Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile
- When
- March 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 11:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile forecast zone
- Reported by
- Mesonet
Extreme Cold in Alaska, March 1, 2008
Event Continued from February. Strong high pressure over the North Slope and moderate low pressure over the Gulf of Alaska created moderate winds near the Alaska-Canada border, and with cold temperatures this resulted in a period of Extreme Wind Chill, as reported by the Remote Automated Weather Station at Eagle, where the Wind Chill reached -70 F.
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.
Event Continued from February. Strong high pressure over the North Slope and moderate low pressure over the Gulf of Alaska created moderate winds near the Alaska-Canada border, and with cold temperatures this resulted in a period of Extreme Wind Chill, as reported by the Remote Automated Weather Station at Eagle, where the Wind Chill reached -70 F. Sustained Wind speeds were 20 to 30 mph during the event.
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 Feb 29, 11:11 PM AKST, 49 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 29, 11:11 PM AKST, 49 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 411 AM AST SAT MAR 1 2008 .DISCUSSION... MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH 60 HOURS WITH LITTLE RUN TO RUN DIFFERENCES THROUGH 48 HOURS. CURRENT LONG WAVE TROUGH PATTERN SLICING SOUTHWESTERLY THROUGH THE STATE FROM CANADA ALLOWS FOR THE SHORT LIVED BLAST OF ARCTIC AIR TO PENETRATE TO WELL SOUTH OF THE ALASKA RANGE AND OUT INTO BRISTOL BAY. TEMPERATURES HAVE DROPPED TO 50 BELOW ON THE ARCTIC PLAIN WITH THE INCURSION OF ARCTIC AIR. WITH THE STRONG COLD ADVECTION THROUGH THE STATE...THIS HAS CAUSED STRONG WINDS TO DEVELOP OVER MOST OF THE REGION. THE STRONG WINDS COMBINED WITH THE COLD ADVECTION HAS CREATED SEVERE WIND CHILLS ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE INTERIOR...DROPPING TO NEAR 75 BELOW OVER AREAS ALONG THE STEESE HIGHWAY NORTHEAST OF FAIRBANKS. THIS HAS PROMPTED WIND CHILL WARNING IN THIS AREA. THIS COLD AIR WILL BE MOVED RAPIDLY OUT OF THE AREA BEGINNING THIS EVENING WITH THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDING IN QUICKLY FROM THE SOUTHEAST ALONG THE PANHANDLE OF ALASKA. MODELS AND ENSEMBLES WHICH OFFERED UP CONSIDERABLE SPREAD EARLIER IN THE WEEK HAVE BEEN TRENDING TOWARD A COMMON SOLUTION THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS...AND NOW ARE IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT FOR THE MID RANGE FORECAST. THE ECMWF WHICH HAD BEEN VERY CONSISTENT THROUGHOUT APPEARS TO HAVE HAD AND CONTINUES TO HAVE THE BEST GRASP ON THE UPCOMING PATTERN CHANGE. THE UPPER LOW CURRENTLY VISIBLE ON SATELLITE IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL RE-FORM ACROSS INTERIOR ALASKA EARLY THIS WEEKEND. MODELS AND ENSEMBLES ALL NOW RETROGRADE THIS UPPER LOW BACK TO NEAR THE BERING STRAIT BY TUESDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL ALLOW THE UPPER FLOW TO TURN INTO THE SOUTH AND TRANSPORT MILDER AIR ALOFT INTO MUCH OF THE CWA. THE OPERATIONAL GFS RETURNS 850MB TEMPS TO AROUND -6C AT FAIRBANKS BY THURSDAY. THE ENSEMBLE MEAN IS A BIT COLDER...BUT STILL SHOWS SIGNIFICANT WARMING BY MID-LATE WEEK. IT NOW LOOKS LIKE THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT TEMPS WILL GET ABOVE ZERO AT FAIRBANKS BY WEDNESDAY...AND IF NOT WEDNESDAY...BY THURSDAY. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES BY LATE IN THE WEEK ARE LIKELY TO BE ALONG THE WEST COAST CLOSEST TO THE UPPER LOW. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ216-AKZ217-AKZ219-AKZ221-AKZ222- AKZ224-AKZ225-AKZ226. WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ215-AKZ222. WIND CHILL WARNING FOR AKZ220. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210. && CF MAR 08
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
- Winter Weather in Vermont, March 1, 2008
- Drought in Alabama, March 1 to 31, 2008
- Winter Storm in Vermont, March 1, 2008
- Winter Weather in New York, March 1, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Alabama, March 1 to 4, 2008
- Drought in Tennessee, March 1 to 31, 2008
- Flooding in Missouri, March 1 to 7, 2008
- Heavy Snow in Maine, March 1, 2008
- Flooding in Indiana, March 1 to 2, 2008
- Heavy Snow in Maine, March 1 to 2, 2008
- Drought in Texas, March 1 to 31, 2008
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, March 1, 2008
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 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: 83440.