Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 8 to 12, 2005

On January 7th, a low pressure center moved north over the Chukotsk Peninsula. as it moved over the Russian Arctic Ocean it deepened rapidly and the cold front associated with the original low strengthened and swept east across the North Slope on the 8th, bringing strong west winds and snow. The surface low, though 450 miles north of Barrow the afternoon of the 8th, continued to deepen and approached 980 mb. It began to drift southeast which allowed the strong winds over the eastern arctic coast to continue until finally relaxing on the early morning of the 12th. A prolonged blizzard occurred at the village of Kaktovik. Due to the wind knocking utility wires together or apart from their connections, at 1700 AST on the 8th, the power grid failed over two-thirds of the village. During Sunday afternoon the 9th, the rest of the village lost power. Generators were put into service at a few of the larger buildings but by the 10th the fuel supply for these generators was running low, and without grid power available the fuel at the fuel storage facility could not be transferred to the generators. The continuing blizzard and 24-hour darkness made emergency response via air very difficult. Some of the 286 residents left their homes and stayed in the school as well as in a heavy equipment maintenance building owned by the North Slope Borough. Temperatures dropped to 20 below Sunday, about a 50 degree change in 24 hours. Inside temperatures in residences and other buildings without heat dropped below freezing, causing damage to home heating systems that typically are the hot-water baseboard style. The water supply service entrance to most residences froze as well. On the 11th, two electrical linemen were transported by a National Guard helicopter in a daring landing with the blizzard in progress; the linemen restored power to much of the power grid. On Wednesday the 12th, cargo planes were able to fly in and deliver much needed supplies like water, ready-to-eat meals, diapers, and infant formula.Injuries: A man fell 10 feet after he walked off the edge of a snowdrift during the blizzard, resulting in several broken ribs. A city employee injured his knee while doing response/repair work during the blizzard.The Property Damage amount is actually a total amount of monetary impact the North Slope Borough incurred with the event. This includes at least $300,000 in costs for the National Guard helicopter flights and associated personnel, the cost to repair the power utility equipment, and freeze-up damages to buildings and residences. Blizzard Conditions reported at:Zone 203: Colville Co-operative Observer; Deadhorse, and likely at Nuiqsut ASOS. Department of Transportation also reported very low visibilities.Zone 204: Kaktovik. Barter Island AWOS stopped reporting 2235 AST on the 8th. Extreme Wind Chill occurred at:Zone 203: Deadhorse ASOS: -60 F.Zone 204: Kaktovik: Estimated -60 F. High Winds reported at:Zone 203: Colville Cooperative Observer: Gusts to 56 knots (64 mph).Zone 204: Kaktovik estimated gusts to 65 knots (75 mph) by residents. Barter Island AWOS not reporting per above.Zone 218: State of Alaska D.O.T. Camp at Chandalar reported wind gusts of 55 knots (63 mph) on the morning of the 10th. Estimated duration of event based on surface analysis and observations for Anaktuvuk Pass, which did not reach warning criteria.