Blizzard, Ern Norton Sound Nulato Hills
- When
- January 15, 1:36 PM AKST to 5:56 PM AKST
- Where
- Ern Norton Sound Nulato Hills forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Blizzard in Alaska, January 15, 2008
A low pressure center moving north over southwest Alaska and its associated occlusion moving over Norton Sound likely produced blizzard conditions for a brief time on the 15th, as reported by the Unalakleet AWOS.
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.
A low pressure center moving north over southwest Alaska and its associated occlusion moving over Norton Sound likely produced blizzard conditions for a brief time on the 15th, as reported by the Unalakleet AWOS.
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 15, 8:48 AM AKST, 4 hours 48 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 15, 8:48 AM AKST, 4 hours 48 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 148 PM AST TUE JAN 15 2008 .DISCUSSION... ALOFT... PROGRESSIVE SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW PATTERN WILL BE MAINTAINED OVER THE ALASKA MAINLAND AS SEVERAL RIDGES AND TROUGHS MOVE THROUGH. 850 MB TEMPERATURES OVER THE THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL BE NEAR NORMAL TO ABOVE NORMAL FOR MOST OF THE TIME DURING THE UPCOMING WEEK. SURFACE... FOR TODAYS 12Z MODEL RUN CYCLE...GFS AND ECMWF HAD THE BEST INITIALIZATIONS ON THE CENTRAL PRESSURE OF THE LOW WEST OF THE PRIBILOFS...ABOUT 970 MB. SHIP JUST SOUTHEAST OF THE CENTER REPORTED 976 MB WITH A 35 KT WIND...AND CENTRAL PRESSURE OF THE LOW AT THIS TIME WAS PROBABLY AROUND 968-970 MB. ALL MODELS AND GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN ARE CLUSTERING CLOSE ON THE LOW POSITION AND CENTRAL PRESSURE FOR 12Z WED... LOW CENTERED OVER OUTER NORTON SOUND WITH CENTRAL PRESSURE AROUND 990 MB. PRESSURE GRADIENTS OVER THE WEST COAST AND WESTERN ARCTIC ARE QUITE SIMILAR AT THIS VERIFYING TIME. AT 00Z TUE...MODEL LOW CENTER POSITIONS ARE A LITTLE MORE DISPERSED BUT STILL TELLING THE SAME BASIC STORY. GFS/ENSEMBLE/ECMWF POSITION IS NEAR KOTZEBUE...ALL RUNS SHOWING 1000-1005 MB CENTRAL PRESSURE AND GENERALLY SIMILAR PRESSURE GRADIENTS ALONG AND NORTH OF THE ARCTIC COAST. BLIZZARD WARNINGS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED FOR ALL ZONES EXCEPT ZONE 213...CURRENT AND EXPECTED WINDS WILL BE BELOW BLIZZARD CRITERIA AND PRECIPITATION WITH THE LOW CENTER HAS DEGENERATED TO SNOW SHOWERS. VISIBILITIES AT TIN CITY AND GAMBELL HAVE BEEN MAINLY IN THE 1 TO 2 MILE RANGE...BUT WILL RETAIN THE BLIZZARD FOR 213 TO COVER ANY DIPS TO NEAR ZERO IN HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS AND BLOWING SNOW. ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST AND OVER THE INTERIOR ARCTIC PLAIN... EAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO AROUND 15 MPH TONIGHT... CONTINUING THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WE WILL CONTINUE THE WIND CHANNEL WARNINGS FOR ZONES 201-202-203-205 AND WIND CHILL ADVISORIES FOR ZONES 204-206. TIMING WILL BE CRITICAL SINCE WHILE THE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT...TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO RISE AS CLOUD COVER EXPANDING NORTHWARD. COMPLICATING THE FORECAST PROBLEM IS VERY SHALLOW EXTENT OF THE VERY COLD AIR...THE BARROW 12Z RAOB SHOWED THE COLD AIR LAYER TO BE ONLY ABOUT 10 MB THICK...WITH A TEMPERATURE OF AROUND -25F AT THE TOP OF THE INVERSION. THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAN ANY REAL INCREASE IN WIND SPEED COULD POP THE INVERSION...BRINGING A FAST RISE IN TEMPERATURE...BRINGING WIND CHILL VALUES FROM WARNING LEVELS TO THE ADVISORY CATEGORY. ISOLATED GUSTS AT OR NEAR ADVISORY LEVELS ARE STILL OCCURRING IN OR NEAR WINDY AND ISABEL PASSES...BUT ARE EXPECTED TO END THIS EVENING. SUPPORT FROM WINDS ALOFT IS RATHER MINIMAL. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ225-AKZ226. WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ204-AKZ206-AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209- AKZ210-AKZ217. WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ216. BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ213. WIND CHILL WARNING FOR AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ205. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ225. && RF JAN 08
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, January 15, 2008
- High Wind in Wyoming, January 15, 2008
- High Wind in Montana, January 15, 2008
- Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 15 to 16, 2008
- Blizzard in Alaska, January 15, 2008
- Flood in Indiana, January 15, 2008
- Blizzard in Alaska, January 15, 2008
- Lake-Effect Snow in New York, January 15, 2008
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, January 15 to 16, 2008
- High Wind in Utah, January 15, 2008
- Wildfire in Texas, January 15 to 16, 2008
- Blizzard in Alaska, January 15, 2008
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2008
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: 71298.