Blizzard, Chukchi Sea Coast
- When
- March 19, 8:16 PM AKST to March 20, 9:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Blizzard in Alaska, March 19 to 20, 2008
High Pressure over the north Chukchi Sea shifted slightly to produce strong winds at Point Hope which resulted in blizzard conditions the night of the 19th through the evening of the 20th. One report from an airplane pilot landing there was that no one would travel from the village to the airstrip to assist him in tying down the plane, due to the strong winds and blowing snow hampering travel to…
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.
High Pressure over the north Chukchi Sea shifted slightly to produce strong winds at Point Hope which resulted in blizzard conditions the night of the 19th through the evening of the 20th. One report from an airplane pilot landing there was that no one would travel from the village to the airstrip to assist him in tying down the plane, due to the strong winds and blowing snow hampering travel to the airstrip. AWOS Wind speeds gusted between 50 and 60 mph before the AWOS stopped reporting on the evening of the 19th.
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 19, 4:51 AM AKST, 15 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 19, 4:51 AM AKST, 15 hours 25 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 1051 AM ADT WED MAR 19 2008 .DISCUSSION... UPPER AIR... UPPER LOW CENTERED OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN MAINLAND WILL MIGRATE TO THE NORTHERN GULF OF ALASKA BY MON. UPPER HIGH WILL DEVELOP OVER EAST CENTRAL RUSSIA BY WED...MOVING TO NORTH OF WRANGEL ISLAND BY SUN. ECMWF/GFS/GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN IN GENERALLY GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH SAT. FOR DAYS 4-7...A MEAN TROUGH POSITION IS LIKELY TO PERSIST OVER THE NORTHERN ALASKA MAINLAND...WITH RIDGING OR A BLOCKING HIGH OVER THE HIGH ARCTIC. 850 TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE NORMAL TO A LITTLE BELOW NORMAL FOR NEXT 5-7 DAYS. SURFACE... LOW PRESSURE WILL PERSIST OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA THROUGH THE NEXT 5-7 DAYS. A 1045 MB HIGH NORTHEAST OF WRANGEL ISLAND WILL MOVE TO THE WESTERN BERING BY FRI...WITH RESIDUAL RIDGING REMAINING OVER THE ARCTIC. HIGH PRESSURE CENTER EXPECTED TO REBUILD OVER THE HIGH ARCTIC BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. MODERATE SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL PERSIST OVER MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA FROM THE BROOKS RANGE SOUTHWARD THROUGH FRI. SNOW AMOUNTS DURING IN THE INTERIOR FOR THE NEXT 5-7 DAYS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LIGHT...MAINLY FLURRIES. LITTLE OR NO SNOWFALL EXPECTED OVER THE WEST COAST AND ARCTIC. OVER THE INTERIOR ARCTIC SLOPE...VERY COLD TEMPERATURES INTO THE WEEKEND WITH LITTLE OR NO CLOUD COVER EXPECTED...AND LITTLE IF ANY WARM ADVECTION ALOFT. GFS CARRYING TOO MUCH RH BELOW 1 KM OVER THE ARCTIC COAST AND INLAND...NAM CONSIDERABLY DRIER AND MORE REALISTIC. MODELS NOT RESOLVING THE COLD-PRODUCED MESOSCALE HIGH/RIDGE OVER THE INLAND ARCTIC SLOPE...RESULTING IN LIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS AND VERY COLD TEMPERATURES ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST EAST OF BARROW. WITH NO WARMING INLAND EXPECTED SOON WHICH WOULD WEAKEN THE INTERIOR MESO-HIGH...PERSISTENCE WILL CLEARLY BEAT THE MODEL SOLUTIONS HERE. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ210-AKZ213 WIND CHILL WARNING FOR AKZ205-AKZ206-AKZ217-AKZ218. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ220-PKZ225. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230. && RF MAR 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
- Flooding and Heavy Rain in Ohio, March 19 to 21, 2008
- Coastal Flood and High Surf in Puerto Rico, March 19 to 20, 2008
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Louisiana, March 19, 2008
- Damaging Winds in Kentucky, March 19, 2008
- Tornado and Damaging Winds in West Virginia, March 19, 2008
- Flooding in Ohio, March 19 to 20, 2008
- Wildfire in Florida, March 19, 2008
- Flood in West Virginia, March 19, 2008
- Flash Flood and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, March 19, 2008
- Flood in Illinois, March 19 to 23, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, March 19, 2008
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Tennessee, March 19, 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: 83465.