Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R
- When
- March 8, 11:56 PM AKST to March 9, 11:36 PM AKST
- Where
- N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Extreme Cold in Alaska, March 8 to 9, 2007
On the night of the 8th, strong high pressure over the northern Chukchi Sea moved slightly east causing north winds to occur through Brooks Range passes which resulted in Extreme Wind Chills to -69 F, as reported by the Anaktuvuk Pass AWOS. The AWOS showed sustained winds of 15 to 23 mph during this time.
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 AFG wrote it up.
On the night of the 8th, strong high pressure over the northern Chukchi Sea moved slightly east causing north winds to occur through Brooks Range passes which resulted in Extreme Wind Chills to -69 F, as reported by the Anaktuvuk Pass AWOS. The AWOS showed sustained winds of 15 to 23 mph during this time.
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 8, 12:40 AM AKST, 23 hours 16 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 12:40 AM AKST, 23 hours 16 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 540 AM AST THU MAR 8 2007 .DISCUSSION... ALOFT... COLD TROUGH ALOFT OVER NORTHERN ALASKA WILL PERSIST INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. COLD AIR ALOFT WILL BE REINFORCED BY ANOTHER COLD SURGE FROM THE NORTH EARLY NEXT WEEK. THERE IS LITTLE LIKELIHOOD OF ANY CHANGE IN THIS REGIME FOR THE NEXT WEEK TO 10 DAYS... WITH BOTH GFS AND ECMWF MODELS INDICATING CONTINUATION OF THIS COLD PATTERN. SURFACE... SHORT RANGE MODEL SOLUTIONS AGREE. TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE WEST COAST WILL PERSIST INTO FRIDAY... THEN BEGIN TO OPEN UP SLOWLY. A MODERATELY TIGHT GRADIENT ACROSS THE ALASKA RANGE WILL PERSIST INTO THE WEEKEND. THE STRONGEST WINDS IN ZONE 225 WILL LIKELY BE IN THE PASS JUST NORTH OF CANTWELL. CANTWELL WAS REPORTING NORTHEAST WINDS 20 TO 30 KT WITH GUSTS TO 40 KT WEDNESDAY EVENING. IN ZONE 226...THE HIGHEST WINDS WILL LIKELY BE IN AREAS NEAR SUMMIT LAKE...WHICH IS TRADITIONALLY PRONE TO STRONG NORTH WINDS WHEN THERE ARE LARGE PRESSURE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GULKANA AND BIG DELTA. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ208-AKZ210- AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ213-AKZ214-AKZ225-AKZ226. BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ207. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ225. && RF MAR 07
Event by event
1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 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: 12668.