Blizzard in Alaska, March 4, 2006

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, March 4, 2006
Start: 2006-03-04T01:55
End: 2006-03-04T18:36
Location: Alaska

March 4, 2006 · NWS AFG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Zone 214:likely, as reported by the AWOS at Cape Romanzof.

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.

A strong low pressure center of 974 mb tracked northeast over the Bering Sea, stalling near Saint Matthew Island on the 4th.Blizzard conditions:Zone 213: likely over Saint Lawrence Island, as reported by the AWOS at Gambell.Zone 214:likely, as reported by the AWOS at Cape Romanzof.

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 3, 2:36 PM AST, 11 hours 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 3, 2:36 PM AST, 11 hours 19 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
236 PM AST FRI MAR 3 2006

.DISCUSSION...

ALOFT...LOW PRESSURE OVER THE WESTERN BERING SEA WILL MOVE RAPIDLY
EAST AND BE NEAR SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND SAT AFTERNOON. THE LOW WILL
REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY AND GRADUALLY WEAKEN THROUGH MON THEN
MOVE EAST TUE THROUGH WED AS RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE EASTERN BERING
SEA.

SURFACE...A 975 MB LOW 700 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GAMBELL WILL MOVE
RAPIDLY EAST AND BE 982 MB 300 MILES SOUTHEAST OF GAMBELL SAT
AFTERNOON. ON SUN AFTERNOON...A 998 MB LOW WILL BE NEAR NOME AND A
996 MB LOW WILL BE NEAR ANCHORAGE. ON MON AFTERNOON...A 979 MB LOW
WILL BE 170 MILES SOUTHEAST OF KODIAK AND A 997 MB LOW WILL BE NEAR
KOTZEBUE. THE LOW SOUTHWEST OF KODIAK WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE
GULF OF ALASKA TUE.

NORTH SLOPE...WINDS WILL BE GENERALLY LIGHT EAST THROUGH THE
WEEKEND FROM BARROW EAST. THE EXCEPTION MAY BE OVER THE EASTERN
BEAUFORT SEA COAST AS LOW PRESSURE FORMS OVER MACKENZIE BAY. WINDS
OVER THE WESTERN ARCTIC COAST WILL BE MODERATE DUE TO PRESSURE
GRADIENT BETWEEN HIGH OVER RUSSIA AND LOW MOVING FROM SOUTHWEST
ALASKA TO GULF OF ALASKA. SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE MAINLY LIMITED TO
THE WESTERN ARCTIC COAST.

WEST COAST...LOW PRESSURE MOVING RAPIDLY EAST ACROSS THE BERING
SEA WILL BRING UP WINDS TONIGHT THROUGH SAT NIGHT. SNOW WITH THIS
SYSTEM WILL BE GENERALLY LESS THAN A COUPLE INCHES. ANOTHER BERING
SEA LOW WILL APPROACH THE WEST COAST AREA TUE.

INTERIOR...SNOW ASSOCIATED WITH LOW MOVING INLAND OVER SOUTHWEST
ALASKA SAT NIGHT WILL BE MAINLY LESS THAN A COUPLE OF INCHES AND
CONFINED TO THE WEST AND ALASKA RANGE. EARLY NEXT WEEK...WEAK LOW
PRESSURE MAY PRODUCE WIDESPREAD LIGHT SNOW OR FLURRIES FOR THE
INTERIOR.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ213-AKZ214.

BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR AKZ211.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ220.
&&

DA MAR 06

Event by event

2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Yukon Delta

When: March 4, 1:55 AM AST to 8:55 AM AST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: March 4, 4:16 AM AST to 6:36 PM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait 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.

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, 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: 5489693, 5489692.