Blizzard, Chukchi Sea Coast
- When
- March 16, 9:53 AM AST to 1:45 PM AST
- Where
- Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard in Alaska, March 16, 2002
Blizzard conditions developed along the Chukchi Sea Coast as a warm front pushed north through the region. This front was associated with a 994mb low that was centered northeast of St.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
Blizzard conditions developed along the Chukchi Sea Coast as a warm front pushed north through the region. This front was associated with a 994mb low that was centered northeast of St. Lawrence Island. Strong high pressure over eastern Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada, coupled with this low, created a significantly strong pressure gradient that resulted in high winds along the northwest coast. These winds, combined with the snow associated with the warm front, created blizzard conditions at Point Hope and Kivalina.
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Flash Flooding and Flooding in Tennessee, March 16 to 22, 2002
- Avalanche in Utah, March 16, 2002
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, March 16, 2002
- Winter Weather in California, March 16, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Colorado, March 16 to 17, 2002
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in California, March 16 to 18, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Utah, March 16 to 17, 2002
- High Surf in Hawaii, March 16 to 19, 2002
- Damaging Winds in Georgia, March 16, 2002
- High Wind in California, March 16 to 18, 2002
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, March 16, 2002
- Wildfire and Dust Storm in California, March 16 to 17, 2002
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 2002
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5285013.