Blizzard and Cold in Alaska, February 1, 2005

Name: Blizzard and Cold in Alaska, February 1, 2005
Start: 2005-02-01T08:50
End: 2005-02-01T15:05
Location: Alaska

February 1, 2005 · NWS AFG · 2 events in 1 county or zone

The weather front from a 1000 millibar low pressure center over the eastern Arctic Ocean moved onshore the Central Beaufort Sea coast. Blizzard conditions were reported at Deadhorse, Nuiqsut, Kuparuk, and low visibilities in blowing snow were reported by Department of Transportation.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

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 Feb 1, 6:00 AM AST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 1, 6:00 AM AST, 2 hours 50 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
600 AM AST TUE FEB 1 2005

.DISCUSSION...500MB PATTERN HAS A 485/490DM CLOSED LOW OVER THE
CANADIAN ARCHIPELAGO WITH ASSOCIATED TROUGH EXTENDING SOUTHWEST
INTO ALASKA. A NARROW 500MB RIDGE EXTENDS FROM THE CENTRAL
ALEUTIANS UP THROUGH THE RUSSIAN FAR EAST AND NORTH OF WRANGEL
ISLAND. AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THIS ARRANGEMENT...STEERING FLOW
INTO NORTHERN ALASKA IS HIGHLY MERIDIONAL FROM THE NORTH...WHICH
IS GOOD FOR BRINGING COLD TEMPERATURES AND VERY LITTLE MOISTURE.
500MB HEIGHTS OVER ALASKAS INTERIOR ARE ABOUT 20DM BELOW SEASONAL
NORMALS. ENTIRE FORECAST AREA IS NORTH OF THE ARCTIC FRONT. AT
THE SURFACE...A 993MB LOW LINGERING ALONG THE NORTH GULF COAST
IS SLOWLY WEAKENING. WEAK OVER-RUNNING SNOW EVENT IN EXTREME
SOUTHEASTERN INTERIOR IS WINDING DOWN AS THE LOW FILLS...SNOW
AT NORTHWAY ENDED MONDAY EVENING. POES IMAGERY SHOWS EXTENSIVE
CLOUDS OVER ARCTIC OCEAN ADVECTING SOUTH AHEAD OF A WARM FRONT
NOW OVER HIGH ARCTIC OCEAN.

EXPECT 500MB TROUGH NOW OVER ALASKA WILL EXIT TO THE EAST BY
THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK AS A WEAK SHORT WAVE RIDGE MOVES FROM
WRANGEL ISLAND INTO MAINLAND ALASKA. THE RIDGE THEN DISSOLVES BY
THE WEEKEND AS ALL MODELS HAVE GENERAL IDEA OF A 500MB COL NEAR
THE BERING STRAIT WITH SOME KIND OF DRY WESTERLY FLOW INTO
MAINLAND ALASKA.

ARCTIC COAST...MODELS DEPICT A WARM FRONT APPROACHING THE ARCTIC
COAST FROM THE NORTH...CLOUDS ON POES IMAGERY THAT HAVE BEGUN
MOVING ONSHORE OVER THE LAST SEVERAL HOURS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH
THIS FEATURE. BUOYS BETWEEN 75N AND 80N HAVE SHOWN ABOUT 20F OF
WARMING OVER LAST 36 HOURS. EXPECT FRONT WILL REACH THE COAST
TONIGHT. WESTERLY WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST IN ZONE 204 WHERE
TOPOGRAPHY WILL HELP FUNNEL THE WIND. THIS IS A WARM ADVECTION
CASE...WHICH IS NOT FAVORABLE FOR A KAKTOVIK BLIZZARD. HOWEVER...
THE FRONT IS COMING FROM THE DATA-POOR ARCTIC OCEAN...SO WE WILL
HAVE TO WATCH THE POES CLOSELY AND BE PREPARED FOR CHANGES IN
TIMING AND INTENSITY OF THE FRONT. WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN ZONES
203 AND 204 TODAY AND TONIGHT.

WEST COAST...LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED OCCLUSION NOW
NEAR KAMCHATKA PENINSULA AND EXTREME WESTERN BERING SEA WILL
NOT BE A FACTOR FOR WEST COAST AS 500MB STEERING FLOW ALONG WEST
COAST WILL REMAIN NORTHERLY FOR NEXT FEW DAYS...THE KAMCHATKA
FEATURE IS DESTINED TO JUST SIT IN PLACE AND SPIN ITS WHEELS. A
PAIR OF WEAK 500MB SHORT WAVES WILL RIDE SOUTH ALONG THE WEST
COAST OVER THE NEXT 60 HOURS. GIVEN THE DRY ATMOSPHERE...THESE
SHORT WAVES WONT BE ABLE TO PRODUCE MORE THAN SOME CLOUDS
AND MAYBE FLURRIES. CLOUDS THIS MORNING OVER NORTON SOUND AND
DEERING AREA ARE FAIRLY THIN AND HAVE BEEN TOUGH TO MAKE OUT ON
SATELLITE IMAGERY. GUSTY NORTHERLY WINDS IN BERING STRAIT WILL
PERSIST...BUT NOT TO ADVISORY LEVELS. LOCALIZED WINDS AT SKOOKUM
PASS IN ZONE 211 GET AN ADVISORY TODAY. THIS IS A TERRAIN EFFECT
AND WILL NOT IMPACT POPULATION CENTERS AT GOLOVIN AND NOME. WIND
CHILLS ARE TO ADVISORY LEVELS IN PORTIONS OF ZONES 207 AND 213.

INTERIOR...COLD (BUT NOT RECORD COLD) AND DRY FOR NEXT FEW DAYS.
REMNANTS OF ARCTIC COAST FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTH OF THE BROOKS
RANGE WEDNESDAY AND EARLY THURSDAY...BUT SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY MORE
IMPACT THAN SOME PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES AFTER THE TRIP OVER THE
MOUNTAINS. THE ARRIVAL OF THE 500MB SHORT WAVE RIDGE FROM
THE NORTHWEST THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WILL BRING WARMER TEMPERATURES
ALOFT BUT WILL PROBABLY HAVE LESS EFFECT IN VALLEY BOTTOMS WHERE
RADIATIONAL COOLING WILL STILL BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR. RESULT
WILL BE SOME SHARP SURFACE-BASED TEMPERATURE INVERSIONS. WILL
CANCEL WIND ADVISORY TODAY IN THE EASTERN ALASKA RANGE AS THE
YAKATAT LOW SLOWLY WEAKENS AND THE PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE
ALASKA RANGE DIMINISHES. STILL EXPECT SOME NORTHERLY WIND TODAY
AND TONIGHT IN THE PASSES...BUT NOT TO ADVISORY CRITERIA. BY
THURSDAY AND FRIDAY A WEAK TANANA VALLEY JET SCENARIO WILL
DEVELOP AS A SURFACE HIGH BUILDS ALONG THE ALCAN BORDER AND
INCREASES THE PRESSURE GRADIENT FORCE BETWEEN NORTHWAY AND DELTA.

.AFG WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WIND CHILL ADVISORY AKZ203...204...207...213.
         WIND ADVISORY AKZ211.
MARINE...BRISK WIND ADVISORY AREAS 9B...10B...11B.

ES FEB 05

Event by event

1 blizzard, 1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: February 1, 8:50 AM AST to 1:53 PM AST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Cold/Wind Chill, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: February 1, 9:42 AM AST to 3:05 PM AST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast 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.
Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, February 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: 5437554, 5437555.