Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait
- When
- February 24, 12:56 PM AKST to 4:16 PM AKST
- Where
- St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Blizzard in Alaska, February 24 to 26, 2009
A 984 mb low in the southern Bering Sea tracked to the Yukon Delta on the afternoon of the 25th. The storm brought blizzard conditions to parts of Saint Lawrence Island during the afternoon of the 24th, and to parts of the Yukon Delta during the evening of the 24th into the early morning hours of the 25th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 984 mb low in the southern Bering Sea tracked to the Yukon Delta on the afternoon of the 25th. The storm brought blizzard conditions to parts of Saint Lawrence Island during the afternoon of the 24th, and to parts of the Yukon Delta during the evening of the 24th into the early morning hours of the 25th.
Zone 207: Blizzard conditions were observed at Point Hope as well as Kivalina during this event. At Kivalina, the visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow from the evening hours of the 25th through the early morning hours on the 26th. The wind gusted as high as 47 mph/41kt at the Kivalina ASOS. At Point Hope, the visibility was reduced to near zero at times during the late afternoon and early evening hours on the 26th in snow and blowing snow. Although the Point Hope AWOS wind sensor was not operational during this event, it is likely that the wind was similar to that observed at Kivalina.
Zone 213: Blizzard conditions were observed at Savoonga with snow and blowing snow reducing the visibility to one quarter mile or less. A south wind of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to around 45 mph was observed at the Savoonga AWOS.
Zone 214: Blizzard conditions were observed at Scammon Bay during the evening hours of the 24th into the early morning hours on the 25th. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less in heavy snow and blowing snow. A southeast wind of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to around 40 mph was observed at the Scammon Bay AWSS. Blizzard conditions re-developed during the afternoon of the 25th, and continued into the early morning hours of the 26th as the wind shifted into the northwest and increased to 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 53 mph/46kt.
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 24, 1:19 AM AKST, 11 hours 37 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 24, 1:19 AM AKST, 11 hours 37 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 119 AM AKST TUE FEB 24 2009 .DISCUSSION... UPPER RIDGE EXTENDING FROM SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA TO THE MACKENZIE DELTA REGION AND FARTHER TO THE NORTHEAST WILL MOVE EASTWARD AND BREAK DOWN DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS AS A SHORT WAVE TROUGH MOVES EASTWARD ACROSS THE INTERIOR. THIS TROUGH WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A MINOR RIDGE AND THEN A MUCH STRONGER TROUGH WHICH WILL ARRIVE WED AFTERNOON OVER THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE WEST COAST. THIS TROUGH WILL WEAKEN AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE INTERIOR LATE WED NIGHT THROUGH THU. AN OLD 1004 MB LOW ABOUT 350 NM SOUTHWEST OF SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND WILL WEAKEN INTO A TROUGH OVER THE CHUKOTSK PENINSULA BY 9 PM TUE. A 994 MB LOW ABOUT 1500 NM SOUTHWEST OF SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND WILL DEEPEN TO A 984 MB CENTER ABOUT 800 NM SOUTHWEST OF NUNIVAK ISLAND BY 3 PM TUE...AND MOVE TO THE YUKON DELTA AS A 986 MB LOW BY 3 PM WED. CURRENT GFS AND NAM MODEL RUNS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON FORECAST LOW POSITION AND CENTRAL PRESSURE. A NEW LOW CENTER MAY DEVELOP OVER THE CENTRAL ARCTIC COAST BY 3 AM THU THEN MOVE EASTWARD INTO THE CANADIAN ARCHIPELAGO BY 3 AM FRI. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE WEST COAST AND WESTERN INTERIOR WED AND WED NIGHT AS THE STRONGER SHORT WAVE TROUGH AND ITS ASSOCIATED SURFACE SYSTEM MOVE NORTHEASTWARD. THE PRECEDING WEAKER SHORT WAVE WILL LIKELY BRING A SHORT PERIOD OF LIGHT SNOW AS IT MOVES ACROSS THE INTERIOR. BRISK STRONG EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN ZONES 211-212-214-WESTERN ZONE 215 WED MORNING AS THE LOW CENTER APPROACHES TO JUST OFFSHORE NORTH OF NUNIVAK ISLAND. NORTHWESTERLY GALES ARE EXPECTED OVER MUCH OF THE WEST COAST WED NIGHT ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE LOW AS IT MOVES INTO THE INTERIOR...AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE OVER MUCH OF THE WEST COAST... ESPECIALLY THE SOUTHERN PARTS WHERE THE WINDS WILL PICK UP AFTER SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL HAS ALREADY FALLEN. WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL AMOUNTS EXPECTED TO OCCUR BEFORE THE ONSET OF THE STRONG NORTHWESTERLIES...WE HAVE OPTED TO PUT UP WINTER STORM WATCHES FOR ZONES 212-213-214-215. ZONES 210 AND 211 WILL RECEIVE SNOW ALSO...BUT SNOW AMOUNTS ARE EXPECTED TO BE LESS THAN 6 INCHES. SOUTHERLY CHINOOK WINDS ARE EXPECTED IN ALASKA RANGE PASSES WED THROUGH EARLY THU. ADVISORY LEVEL GUSTS MAY OCCUR AT THE NORMALLY WINDY SPOTS. ALONG THE EASTERN ARCTIC COAST...STRONG WEST WINDS MAY OCCUR THU NIGHT INTO FRI MORNING AFTER A NEW LOW DEVELOPING OVER THE CENTRAL ARCTIC COAST MOVES EAST...FOLLOWED BY RAPIDLY BUILDING HIGH PRESSURE. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WATCH FOR AKZ212-AKZ213-AKZ214-AKZ215. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235. && RF FEB 09
Event by event
4 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Yukon Delta
- When
- February 24, 9:21 PM AKST to February 25, 2:56 AM AKST
- Where
- Yukon Delta forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Blizzard, Chukchi Sea Coast
- When
- February 25, 4:16 PM AKST to February 26, 4:53 AM AKST
- Where
- Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Blizzard, Yukon Delta
- When
- February 25, 7:10 PM AKST to February 26, 2:56 AM AKST
- Where
- Yukon Delta forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
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
- Blizzard and Coastal Flood in Alaska, February 24 to 26, 2009
- Drought in Florida, February 24 to 28, 2009
- Dense Fog in Colorado, February 24, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Montana, February 24 to 25, 2009
- Flooding in Idaho, February 24 to 25, 2009
- Wildfire in Texas, February 24 to 28, 2009
- High Wind in Texas, February 24 to 26, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, February 24 to 26, 2009
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, February 24 to 25, 2009
- Dense Fog in Utah, February 24, 2009
- Wildfire in Texas, February 24 to 25, 2009
- High Wind in Wyoming, February 24, 2009
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 2009
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: 148272, 148929, 148945, 148930.