Name: Blizzard in Alaska, March 10, 2006
Start: 2006-03-10T09:15
End: 2006-03-10T16:15
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 AJK wrote it up.

A low sliding southeast along the panhandle to the Queen Charlotte Islands combined with building high pressure over the Alaskan interior and the Yukon Territory increased the winds through the White Pass region above 2000 feet. The gusty north winds of 25 to 35 mph combined with scattered snow showers and loose snow from snow of the previous days reduced visibilities to near 0 miles times.

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 Juneau, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 9, 11:00 AM AST, 22 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 9, 11:00 AM AST, 22 hours 15 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1100 AM AST THU MAR 9 2006

.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...SHOWERS SHUTTING OFF IN A NW TOWARD SE SEQUENCE.
THE LARGE SCALE COLD ADVECTION FROM ACROSS THE GULF OF ALASKA
HAS BEEN TURNING THE SHOWERS TO ALL SNOW BEFORE THE SHUTOFF
OF THE LAST CELLS IN ANY GIVEN ZONE.  WRAP AROUND PRECIPITATION OVER
WESTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA COULD SEND AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR TWO OVER
THE MOUNTAINS AROUND THE UPPER LOW AS IT MOVES SOUTHEASTWARD. IT
APPEARS THE BEST CHANCE FOR THIS WILL BE OVER THE CENTRAL AND
SOUTHERN PANHANDLE WHERE THE UPPER FORCING WILL BE THE STRONGEST.

LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM IN THE EASTERN GULF WILL ACCELERATE SOUTHEASTWARD
DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS...MOVING INLAND IN THE VICINITY OF THE DIXON
ENTRANCE. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THE INTERIOR OF
ALASKA AND THE YUKON ACROSS
THE NORTHERN PANHANDLE. THE TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL
CAUSE NORTH WINDS TO INCREASE ESPECIALLY OVER THE NORTHEAST GULF
COAST AND NORTHERN PANHANDLE. WINDS WILL BE THE STRONGEST OUT OF THE
NORTH/SOUTH PASSES AND CHANNELS.

.LONG RANGE...BY SAT MRNG XPCT A HI AMP UPR RDG TO XTND ACRS THE
N PAC...GLF AK...AND CRVG NEWD OVR THE NRN BERING SEA AND NW
SIBERIA.  THERE WL ALSO BE A CLSD UPR HI OVR NW CAN.  ON THE BK
SD OF THE RDG WL BE A LOW OVR THE NRN BERING SEA THAT WL DIG SEWD
ACRS THE SWRN GLF AK AND N PAC.  THIS UPR LOW IS THE ACTV SYS AND
WL PUSH EWD ACRS THE N PAC AND CUT THE L/W UPR RDG IN HALF MON.
THIS WL LEAVE A CLDS UPR HI OVR INTR AK MON THAT WL PROB BLD NWD
OVR THE ARC THRU NXT THU.

THERE WL ALSO BE SOME SGFNT 500MB VORT ON THE FNT SD OF THE RDG
ACRS THE ERN GLF CST AND SE AK.  THIS VORT SHLD WKN AND MOV SWD
ACRS SE AK THRU MOST OF TUE.

THERE WL BE A SFC HI OVR THE NERN INTR AK AND NW CAN THAT WL
INCRG THE GRAD ACRS NRN INNR CHNLS AND ERN GLF CST BY SAT MRNG.
THIS WL WKN THRU MON AS THE SFC HI MOVS ON SEWD.  AFTR THE SFC HI
WKNS...THERE IS SOME INDCTN OF MSTR MOVG OVR THE NERN GLF AK LATE
NXT WK.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...NONE

MARINE...GALE 51-52-310
         SCA 11-12-13-21-22-31-32-33-41-42-43-53
MLR/JT

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway

When: March 10, 9:15 AM AST to 4:15 PM AST
Where: Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

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 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, March 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: 5494820.