A low pressure system over the western Bering Sea created blizzard conditions over the Bering Strait during the afternoon of the 14th. Blizzard conditions likely occurred at the village of Wales for 8 hours, as reported by the AWIS.
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.
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
A low pressure system over the western Bering Sea created blizzard conditions over the Bering Strait during the afternoon of the 14th. Blizzard conditions likely occurred at the village of Wales for 8 hours, as reported by the AWIS. Occasional wind gusts to near 52 kts (60 mph) were reported by the Wales AWIS during the afternoon.
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 Dec 14, 5:01 AM AKST, 6 hours 47 minutes earlier.
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 501 AM AKST SUN DEC 14 2008 .DISCUSSION... AN ACTIVE AND ENERGETIC PATTERN ACROSS THE HIGH LATITUDES SHOWS NO SIGNS OF DIMINISHING ANY TIME SOON. THERE WILL CONTINUE TO BE A VERY STRONG EAST ASIAN JET THAT WILL STEER NORTH PAC SYSTEMS UP ACROSS EASTERN RUSSIA. AS LONG AS THIS LOW REMAINS IN PLACE AND AN UPPER RIDGE REMAINS THE DOMINATE FEATURE IN THE INTERIOR THIS WILL KEEP THINGS ACTIVE ALONG THE WEST COAST WITH CONTINUED BOUTS OF STRONG WIND AND PRECIPITATION AT TIMES. INTERIOR...OVERALL THE MOST BENIGN WEATHER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WILL BE ACROSS THE INTERIOR. A STRONG RIDGE BUILDING ACROSS THE INTERIOR WILL BRING 500 MB HEIGHTS WELL INTO THE 560S (DAM)...WHICH IS UP IN THE UPPER TWO PERCENTILE FOR MID-DECEMBER. THIS IS BRINGING COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF WARM AIR ALOFT AND STRONG SUBSIDENCE INVERSIONS TO THE INTERIOR. LIKELY TO SEE 50+ (F) DEGREE TEMP SPREADS DURING THE NEXT 36 HOURS FROM THE COLDER YUKON FLATS TO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS. THIS IS ALL EVIDENT AT 13Z WITH A TEMPERATURE OF -13F AT THE DENALI VISITOR CENTER (ELEVATION 1800 FT ASL) WHILE IT IS A RELATIVELY BALMY +36F EIELSON CENTER (ELEV 3730 FT ASL). THE 850 MB TEMP ON THE MORNING PAFA SOUNDING WAS ALREADY UP TO -3C AND SHOULD BE ABOVE FREEZING BY THE 00Z SOUNDING LATER TODAY. A STRONG SHORTWAVE TROUGH KNOCKS DOWN THE RIDGE MONDAY AND AT LEST TEMPORARILY USHERS A COLDER AIRMASS BACK INTO THE INTERIOR. THE BIGGEST AFFECT WILL BE TO BREAK THE INVERSION AND RETURN TEMPS ON THE HILLS TO MORE SEASONABLE LEVELS. THE PUSH OF COLDER AIR WILL ALSO LIKELY BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SHORT PERIOD OF SNOW MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING...BUT IT IS VERY PROGRESSIVE AND UNLIKELY THAT ANY ONE SPOT PICKS UP MORE THAN AN INCH OR TWO OF SNOW. THERE WILL ALSO BE SOME WIND AND BLOWING SNOW ON THE SUMMITS...WITH A SHORT WINDOW WHERE THE WIND AND/OR BLOWING SNOW COULD BECOME AN ISSUE MONDAY AFTERNOON OR EVENING. NORTH SLOPE...THE HIGH WIND EVENT ALONG THE NORTHWEST COAST HAS BEEN WINDING DOWN EARLY THIS MORNING AND THE HIGH WIND WARNING WAS ALLOWED TO EXPIRE WITH THE MORNING PACKAGE AS WINDS ARE NOW WELL BELOW WARNING CRITERIA. THE NEXT SHORTWAVE MOVES OUT OF SIBERIA AND INTO THE WESTERN CHUKCHI SEA TONIGHT. THIS WILL SPREAD SNOW BACK INTO THE WESTERN ARCTIC COAST TONIGHT ALONG WITH AN INCREASE IN WIND. THERE SHOULD BE ENOUGH WIND AND SNOW TO WARRANT A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY STARTING UP LATE TONIGHT. AS THE SYSTEM SWINGS EAST THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF BLIZZARD CONDITIONS MONDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY NIGHT ALONG MUCH OF THE ARCTIC COAST...WITH CONDITIONS IMPROVING WEST OF BARROW MONDAY EVENING. FOR NOW WILL HOLD OFF ON A BLIZZARD WATCH BUT WILL BRIEF THE INCOMING SHIFT THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THEY MAY WANT TO CONSIDER DOING DURING THE DAY. WEST COAST...BY FAR THE MOST ACTIVE WEATHER DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS WILL BE ALONG THE WEST COAST. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT THIS GO AROUND THAT THE WIND WILL NOT BE AS STRONG AS THE LAST COUPLE OF HIGH WIND EVENTS...BUT THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF MOISTURE. GIVEN THE RECENT HISTORY OF WIND EVENTS AND THE ACCOMPANYING BLOWING SNOW OPTED TO GO WITH MAINLY WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES (ZONES 207-208-210-211-213)...AND A BLIZZARD WATCH FOR ZONE 209. WILL ALSO HAVE A WINTER STORM WATCH FOR ZONE 208 WHERE IN EXCESS OF 6 INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE. THE SHORTWAVE WILL QUICKLY EXIT TO THE EAST ON TUESDAY WITH CONDITIONS RAPIDLY IMPROVING AND WINDS DIMINISHING. MID-RANGE REMAINS A FORECAST HEADACHE WITH TERRIBLE CONTINUITY ON THE DETAILS. ONE THING THAT SEEMS REASONABLY CLEAR THOUGH IS THE VERY COLD LOW OVER CENTRAL AND EASTERN SIBERIA APPEARS TO BE ANCHORED IN PLACE FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE...WITH A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES RACING OFF OF ASIA AND INTO THE WESTERN BERING SEA. THIS IS LIKELY TO PROVIDE KEEP A FAIRLY HIGH ENERGY AND PROGRESSIVE PATTERN OVER NORTHERN ALASKA. THIS WOULD RESULT IN GENERALLY WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPS FOR MOST OF THE CWA. THE PROSPECT OF RETROGRADING HIGH AMPLITUDE RIDGE WAS STILL SUPPORTED BY HPC ON SAT. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... BLIZZARD WATCH FOR AKZ209. WINTER STORM WATCH FOR AKZ208. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ207-AKZ210-AKZ211-AKZ213. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ225-PKZ230. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225- PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. && CB/RT DEC 08
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
A low pressure system over the western Bering Sea likely produced blizzard conditions during the afternoon and early evening hours of the 14th at village of Wales. The Wales AWIS reported sustained wind speeds between 30 and 45 mph with a peak gust of 50 kt (59 mph).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2008
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: 138733.