Name: Blizzard in Alaska, December 1, 2005
Start: 2005-12-01T09:36
End: 2005-12-01T23:36
Location: Alaska

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.

High pressure of 1064 mb centered over eastern Russia with a trough of low pressure extending north through south over the inner west coast of Alaska, produced moderately strong north winds over the Saint Lawrence Island waters. Blizzard conditions likely occurred at Gambell during this time, as reported by the Gambell AWOS.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 1, 5:11 AM AST, 4 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 1, 5:11 AM AST, 4 hours 25 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
511 AM AST THU DEC 1 2005

.DISCUSSION...

ALOFT...BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE OVER NORTHERN ALASKA WILL HOLD
IN PLACE THROUGH SATURDAY THEN POSSIBLY BEGIN A RETREAT NORTH
WESTWARD ON SUNDAY AS PACIFIC HIGH BUILDS NORTH OVER THE GULF OF
ALASKA. LARGE AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED OVER RUSSIA ON
THURSDAY WILL DRIFT WEST.

SURFACE...A 1008 MB LOW PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN GULF OF ALASKA
WILL REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH SATURDAY THEN DISSIPATE ON
SUNDAY. HIGH PRESSURE OVER EASTERN RUSSIA NEAR 66 NORTH AND 161
EAST WILL PERSIST THROUGH SATURDAY. A TROUGH EXTENDING FROM LOW PRESSURE
OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA TO THE CHUKCHI SEA WILL PERSIST THROUGH
FRIDAY.

NORTH SLOPE...WINDS WILL BE MAINLY NORTH TODAY. THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST
WILL HAVE SOME WEST WINDS DUE TO WEAK LOW PRESSURE NEAR MACKENZIE
BAY. ALL WINDS...EXCEPT NEAR CAPE LISBURNE...WILL BE BELOW
ADVISORY LEVELS. FLURRIES WILL PERSIST.

WEST COAST...AS WITH NORTH SLOPE...THERE WILL ALSO BE NORTH WINDS
AND FLURRIES. WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST OVER POINT HOPE AND WILL BE
AT ADVISORY LEVELS OVER MARINE AREAS SOUTH THROUGH BERING STRAIT
TO SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND MARINE AREA. DRIER AND CALMER CONDITIONS
WILL BEGIN ON SATURDAY WITH HIGH OVER RUSSIA RETROGRADING
WESTWARD. SIGNIFICANT SNOW MAY OCCUR EARLY NEXT WEEK(SEE INTERIOR
DISCUSSION).

INTERIOR...AREAL COVERAGE OF FLURRIES WILL CONTINUE DECREASING
THROUGH FRIDAY. THE WEEKEND WILL BE DRY. A THREAT OF SIGNIFICANT
SNOW ACCUMULATION APPEARS ON THE HORIZON FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK AS
PACIFIC RIDGE BUILDS NORTH OVER THE EASTERN GULF OF ALASKA AND
UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER NORTHERN BERING SEA PROVIDES AMPLIFICATION
WITH POSSIBLE SOUTHWEST FLOW DEVELOPING. THIS IS A DIFFERENT
PATTERN THAN WAS PRESENTED BY PREVIOUS MODEL RUNS AND WILL
THEREFORE HAVE TO BE MONITORED FOR BETTER RUN TO RUN CONTINUITY.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ210.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ210.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ220-PKZ225.
&&

DEC 05

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: December 1, 9:36 AM AST to 11:36 PM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, December 2005

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: 5484883.