Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 25 to 26, 2008

Name: Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 25 to 26, 2008
Start: 2008-01-25T08:00
End: 2008-01-26T01:58
Location: Alaska

January 25 to 26, 2008 · NWS AFG · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Under an existing cold airmass and high pressure inland over the North Slope, a surface trough moved east across the Arctic Ocean and Arctic Coast on the 25th. |Zone 203: at Alpine, lowest wind chill -76 F with winds to 20 mph; at Deadhorse ASOS, lowest wind chill -73 F with winds 15 to 30 mph; at Kuparuk, lowest wind chill -71 F with winds 15 to 25 mph.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

Under an existing cold airmass and high pressure inland over the North Slope, a surface trough moved east across the Arctic Ocean and Arctic Coast on the 25th. This caused west winds to increase to 20 to 30 mph along the Central and Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast, as well as north winds to increase through central and eastern Brooks Range passes.|Extreme Wind Chills were reported:|Zone 201: at Atqasuk AWOS, lowest wind chill -66 F, Event began at 1756AST.|Zone 203: at Alpine, lowest wind chill -76 F with winds to 20 mph; at Deadhorse ASOS, lowest wind chill -73 F with winds 15 to 30 mph; at Kuparuk, lowest wind chill -71 F with winds 15 to 25 mph. Event began at 0753AST. |Zone 204: by estimation using Komakuk Beach in Canada: -62 F with winds around 30 mph, and Deadhorse ASOS: -73 F with winds 15 to 30 mph. Estimated event began at 1100AST.|Zone 206: Atigun Pass Meteorburst lowest wind chill -68 F. Event began 0500AST.|Zone 218: along the Dalton Highway by estimation using the Atigun Pass Metorburst winds and the data from Anaktuvuk Pass AWOS. Estimated wind chills to -60 F. Estimated event began at 0500AST.

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 25, 12:59 AM AKST, 7 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 25, 12:59 AM AKST, 7 hours 1 minute before

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Event by event

5 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R

When: January 25, 8:00 AM AKST to 5:00 PM AKST
Where: N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range

When: January 25, 8:00 AM AKST to 2:36 PM AKST
Where: S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range forecast zone
Reported by: Mesonet

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: January 25, 10:53 AM AKST to January 26, 1:58 AM AKST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast

When: January 25, 2:00 PM AKST to 6:00 PM AKST
Where: Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Western Arctic Coast

When: January 25, 8:56 PM AKST to 11:56 PM AKST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

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

Every storm in Alaska in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 71875, 71876, 71873, 71874, 71877.