Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, March 27 to 28, 2005

Name: Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, March 27 to 28, 2005
Start: 2005-03-27T11:35
End: 2005-03-28T02:35
Location: Alaska

March 27 to 28, 2005 · NWS AFG · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Blizzard conditions:Zone 207: likely at Kivalina and Point Hope. High Winds occurred in zone 213 at Tin City: peak gust 62 knots (71 mph).

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Cold air moved southwest over the west coast of Alaska into a low pressure center over the Bering Sea, causing blizzard conditions and strong winds over the outer portions of western Alaska.Blizzard conditions:Zone 207: likely at Kivalina and Point Hope. Highest wind gust 46 mph at Point Hope.Zone 213: likely at Tin City.High Winds occurred in zone 213 at Tin City: peak gust 62 knots (71 mph).

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 Mar 27, 6:00 AM AST, 5 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 27, 6:00 AM AST, 5 hours 35 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
600 AM AST SUN MAR 27 2005

.DISCUSSION...ETA AND GFS MODELS AGAIN DIFFER ONLY IN DETAIL. WE
PREFER THE GFS ON THE DETAILS...ON THE WHOLE...THOUGH THE ETA
IS LIKELY BETTER IN KEEPING THE LOW OVER NORTON SOUND AROUND
LONGER. WE LIKE THE WAY THE GFS KEEPS A SURFACE LOW IN THE
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND AREA TODAY...THEN REDEVELOPS IT ON MON AS
MORE SUPPORT ALOFT COMES IN FROM THE WEST. THIS IS THE USUAL
RESULT IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES.

STRONG COLD ADVECTION HAS BEGUN OVER THE WESTERN ARCTIC COAST
AND NORTHWEST ALASKA...THOUGH IT HASNT REACHED PAOT YET. THE
LACK OF SNOWFALL OVER ZONES 207-08 HAS LIMITED THE CHANCE OF
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS...AND WE HAVE BACKED OFF THE WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR 208 TO AN ADVISORY. POTENTIAL FOR SNOWFALL IS
BETTER IN ZONE 217 (THOUGH ITS BY NO MEANS A LOCK). WE HAVE
KEPT THE WARNING IN EFFECT THERE. WIND CHILL IS LIKELY TO BE
AT LEAST AS BIG A PROBLEM IN ALL THOSE ZONES TONIGHT...BUT AGAIN
AT THE ADVISORY LEVEL...NOT LIKELY THE WARNING LEVEL. STRONG
WINDS IN CHANNELED AREAS PERSISTING (DEVELOPING) WITH THE COLD
ADVECTION. IN PARTICULAR...WE WILL NEED TO CONSIDER THE POTENTIAL
FOR STRONG WINDS IN PORTIONS OF ZONE 210 TONIGHT AND MON...THOUGH
THE 00Z AND 06Z MODEL RUNS DID NOT OFFER MUCH ENCOURAGEMENT.

QPFS ARE MODEST WHERE SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED AT ALL...EVEN TODAY.
BY MONDAY...FLURRIES SEEMS THE BEST DESCRIPTION...THOUGH WE
HAVE KEPT A CHANCE OF SOME REAL SNOW IN THE CHOKE POINT NEAR
PABI MONDAY NIGHT.

.AFG WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WINTER STORM WARNING ZONE 217.
         WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ZONES 207-08.
MARINE...GALE AREAS 9B AND 10B.
         BRISK WINDS AREA 11A...9A...DEVELOPING TONIGHT AREA 10A.

DJH MAR 05

Event by event

2 blizzard, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: March 27, 11:35 AM AST to 11:15 PM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Chukchi Sea Coast

When: March 27, 5:46 PM AST to 8:53 PM AST
Where: Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: March 27, 7:55 PM AST to March 28, 2:35 AM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph) measured gust
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.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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, March 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: 5442202, 5442201, 5442203.