High Wind and Winter Weather in Alaska, January 31, 2007

Name: High Wind and Winter Weather in Alaska, January 31, 2007
Start: 2007-01-31T00:15
End: 2007-01-31T21:00
Location: Alaska

January 31, 2007 · NWS AFG · 4 events in 3 counties and zones

|High Winds occurred at:|Zone 201 - Point Lay AWOS highest gust 55 knots (63 mph).

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

With very strong high pressure ove 1045 mb over the eastern Arctic Ocean, a weather front moved north over the Bering Sea and Southern Chukchi sea on the 31st creating near-blizzard conditions and High Winds arcoss the much of the Arctic Coast.|Near-BLizzard Conditions reported at:|Zone 201 - Likely at Wainwright ASOS, Point Lay AWOS.|Zone 202 - Barrow ASOS, augmented by NWS staff.|Zone 203 - likely at Nuiqsut ASOS, also at Deadhorse ASOS which is augmented by FAA contractor.|High Winds occurred at:|Zone 201 - Point Lay AWOS highest gust 55 knots (63 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 Jan 30, 7:09 AM AKST, 17 hours 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 7:09 AM AKST, 17 hours 6 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
1209 PM AST TUE JAN 30 2007

.DISCUSSION...
STRONG RIDGE ALOFT EXTENDS FROM JUST OFF THE WEST COAST
OF NOAM NORTHWESTWARD TO WRANGEL ISLAND AND BEYOND.
THE RIDGE AXIS WILL GRADUALLY ROTATE EASTWARD...EXTENDING FROM
THE ALASKA PANHANDLE TO THE EASTERN ARCTIC COAST AND BEYOND BY
THURSDAY. HIGH SPEED SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE
OVER THE WEST COAST AND BERING SEA...GRADUALLY SPREADING
EAST. WITHIN THE RIDGE...MUCH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ALOFT WILL
CONTINUE INTO FRIDAY...850 MB HIGH TEMPERATURES APPROACHING +8C IN
SOME SECTIONS OF THE INTERIOR. HIGH TEMPERATURES AT HIGHER
ELEVATIONS IN PARTS OF THE INTERIOR WILL BE IN THE 40S AND
POSSIBLY REACH 50. THE RIDGE WILL MOVE EASTWARD AND BREAK DOWN
RAPIDLY FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY...WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES
RETURNING.

960 MB STORM NEAR 51N/164W AT 18Z WILL MOVE TO NEAR 57N/175W
AT 06Z WEDNESDAY FILLING TO 962 MB. ESTIMATE POSITION FOR 00Z
THURSDAY NEAR 58N/180W FILLING TO 972-974 MB.

WINDS WILL INCREASE OVER THE ARCTIC COAST TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY
AS THE LOW MOVES INTO THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA AND THE FRONT
MOVES NORTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE WEST COAST AND NORTHERN
BERING SEA. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE CERTAIN AT POINT LAY...
AND SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED VISIBILITY IN BLOWING SNOW CAN
BE EXPECTED OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE ARCTIC COAST.

STRONG WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED IN ZONES 207-209-210-214 TONIGHT
AND WEDNESDAY...WITH BLIZZARD CONTINUING THROUGH WEDNESDAY IN
ZONE 213.

GAP WINDS CONTINUING OVERNIGHT IN ZONES 225-226...
WITH ISOLATED 50+ MPH GUSTS IN WINDY PASS.

COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ225.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ207.

BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ201-AKZ213.

BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ204.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235-
PKZ240.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ235-PKZ240-
PKZ245.
&&

RF JAN 07

Event by event

3 winter weather, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Western Arctic Coast

When: January 31, 12:15 AM AKST to 4:56 AM AKST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS

Winter Weather, Western Arctic Coast

When: January 31, 5:53 AM AKST to 4:36 PM AKST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

Winter Weather, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: January 31, 7:25 AM AKST to 9:00 PM AKST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Weather, Northern Arctic Coast

When: January 31, 10:25 AM AKST to 7:53 PM AKST
Where: Northern Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2007 Every state in 2007 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, January 2007

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: 6874, 6873, 6876, 6875.