Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast
- When
- March 25, 2:56 PM AST to March 26, 8:10 PM AST
- Where
- Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Blizzard in Alaska, March 25 to 26, 2002
Blizzard conditions developed along portions of the Western Arctic Coast as a cold front slowly moved across this area from the north. This front was pushed south by a 1032mb high pressure system located over the Arctic Ocean.
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 portions of the Western Arctic Coast as a cold front slowly moved across this area from the north. This front was pushed south by a 1032mb high pressure system located over the Arctic Ocean. Strong easterly flow around this high resulted in strong winds and blowing snow that reduced visibility to less than 1/4 mile at Point Lay.
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 in Missouri, March 25, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Mississippi, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Damaging Wind in Texas, March 25, 2002
- Hail in Texas, March 25, 2002
- Winter Storm in Indiana, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Winter Storm in Missouri, March 25 to 26, 2002
- Hail in Oklahoma, March 25, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Texas, March 25, 2002
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 25, 2002
- Hail in Oklahoma, March 25, 2002
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 25 to 26, 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: 5285017.