Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, February 13 to 14, 2006

Name: Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, February 13 to 14, 2006
Start: 2006-02-13T13:55
End: 2006-02-14T16:00
Location: Alaska

February 13 to 14, 2006 · NWS AFG · 7 events in 5 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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.

A 960 mb low pressure center moved north over the central Bering Sea on the evening of the 13th and the morning of the 14th, bringing strong winds and local blizzard conditions to western Alaska. High Winds were reported at:Zone 201: Cape Lisburne AWOS: gusts to 54 knots (62 mph). Zone 208: Red Dog Mine: gusts to 61 knots (70 mph).Zone 211: Anvil Mountain (University of Alaska Water and Environmental Research Center Mesonet Station): gusts to 61 knots (70 mph). Zone 213: Savoonga AWOS: gusts to 61 knots (70 mph); Tin City AWOS: gusts to 56 knots (64 mph); Gambell AWOS gusts to 55 knots (63 mph).Zone 214: Cape Romanzof AWOS gusts to 58 knots (67 mph); Saint Marys AWOS: gusts to 53 knots (61 mph).Blizzard conditions:Zone 211: reported at Nome.Zone 214: likely at Cape Romanzof 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 Feb 13, 1:28 PM AST, 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 13, 1:28 PM AST, 27 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
128 PM AST MON FEB 13 2006

.DISCUSSION...

MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT TODAY. THE LOW OVER THE NORTHWEST
PORTION OF NORTHERN CANADA AND NORTHEASTERN ALASKA IS RAPIDLY
MOVING EASTWARD AND FILLING. THE WEAK COLD FRONT THAT HAS PASSED
THROUGH THE INTERIOR AND SPREAD VARIOUS AMOUNTS OF SNOWFALL OVER
THE AREA. THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL AMOUNTS RESONATED NORTH OF
FAIRBANKS WHERE CHATANIKA LED THE WAY WITH MORE THAN 9 INCHES. THE
SNOWFALL AMOUNTS AROUND THE FAIRBANKS METRO AREA VARIED MOSTLY
BETWEEN 1 AND 2 INCHES.

UPPER LEVEL RIDGE AND SURFACE RIDGE BOTH BUILD BACK IN OVER THE
EASTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE STATE BY THIS EVENING. THE UPPER LEVEL
RIDGE AXIS REMAINS IN TACT AND SHIFTS TO NEAR THE ALCAN BORDER BY
WEDNESDAY AS A SERIES OF BERING SEA STORMS MOVE THROUGH THE AREA.
THE STRONG SOUTH FLOW OVER THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE STATE WILL
TRANSPORT MOISTURE INTO THAT PART OF THE STATE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK
WHICH WILL PRODUCE PERIODIC SNOWFALL. SNOW FALL SHOULD BEGIN ALONG
MOST AREAS FROM THE SEWARD PENINSULA NORTHWARD LATE THIS AFTERNOON
AND THIS EVENING. THE 850 THICKNESS STAY SUFFICIENTLY LOW ENOUGH
TO ENSURE THAT MOST ALL OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE SNOW.

LONGER RANGE PROGS SHOW THAT THE RIDGE IN THE PACIFIC WILL REMAIN
FIRMLY INTACT AND BECOME MORE ROUND TOP BY THE END OF THE WEEK.

WINDS ALONG THE WEST COAST WILL DIMINISH SIGNIFICANTLY ON TUESDAY
AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL PICK UP IN THE EASTERN ARCTIC BY WEDNESDAY
EVENING.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH WIND WATCH FOR AKZ201.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ220.

HIGH WIND WARNING FOR AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ210-AKZ211-AKZ212-
AKZ213-AKZ214.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ225-PKZ230.
&&

CF FEB 06

Event by event

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

Blizzard, Yukon Delta

When: February 13, 1:55 PM AST to 7:55 PM AST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Srn Seward Peninsula Coast

When: February 13, 5:00 PM AST to February 14, 3:00 AM AST
Where: Srn Seward Peninsula Coast forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Srn Seward Peninsula Coast

When: February 13, 6:53 PM AST
Where: Srn Seward Peninsula Coast forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, Yukon Delta

When: February 13, 6:55 PM AST to 10:56 PM AST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: February 13, 11:56 PM AST to February 14, 6:36 AM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Western Arctic Coast

When: February 14, 5:07 AM AST to 8:55 AM AST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Measured: 54 kt (62 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Lower Kobuk & Noatak Valleys

When: February 14, 7:23 AM AST to 4:00 PM AST
Where: Lower Kobuk & Noatak Valleys forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, February 2006

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: 5492957, 5492951, 5492956, 5492953, 5492952, 5492955, 5492954.