Blizzard, Chukchi Sea Coast
- When
- January 21, 3:00 PM AKST to January 22, 12:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- Law Enforcement
Blizzard in Alaska, January 21 to 22, 2009
A strong pressure gradient developed between a 1058 mb high across northeast Alaska and low pressure in the Bering Sea. The strong pressure gradient produced high winds and blizzard conditions along part of the Chukchi Sea coast during the afternoon and evening hours of the 21st.
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 strong pressure gradient developed between a 1058 mb high across northeast Alaska and low pressure in the Bering Sea. The strong pressure gradient produced high winds and blizzard conditions along part of the Chukchi Sea coast during the afternoon and evening hours of the 21st. White-out conditions in heavy blowing and drifting snow were observed at Point Hope during the afternoon, and the visibility remained one quarter mile or less at times into the evening. Both Point Hope and Kivalina observed wind gusts to 50 mph/58 kt.
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 21, 2:51 AM AKST, 12 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 21, 2:51 AM AKST, 12 hours 9 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 251 AM AKST WED JAN 21 2009 .DISCUSSION... THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT FOR ABOUT THE FIRST 48 HOURS BUT CONTINUE TO DIVERGE THURSDAY WITH CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES FROM MODEL TO MODEL AND RUN TO RUN. AN UPPER RIDGE THAT STRETCHES FROM SOUTHWEST ALASKA TO THE CHUKCHI SEA WILL CUT OFF BY THUR AFTERNOON IN THE VICINITY OF PABR-PASC. A 1050 MB SURFACE HIGH ALONG THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST WILL SLIDE OFF INTO THE WESTERN NW TERRITORIES ON THUR. THE COLDEST AIRMASS WILL BE ACROSS THE EASTERN INTERIOR. AS THE HIGH RETREATS AND THE WIND PICKS UP ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST IT WILL LEAD TO SOME WIND CHILL CONCERNS THROUGH TODAY. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL ALSO TIGHTEN ACROSS INTERIOR AK AND MAY LEAD TO SOME CONCERNS WITH BLOWING SNOW. TEMPERATURES LIKELY NOT COLD ENOUGH IN MOST AREAS ACROSS THE INTERIOR FOR WIND CHILL ADVISORIES. THE MODELS CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH ENERGY CUTTING UNDERNEATH THE UPPER HIGH. THE ECMWF CONTINUES TO BE THE MOST AGGRESSIVE AT CUTTING OFF A LOW ACROSS THE NORTHERN INTERIOR FRI AND LIFTING THE LOW UP TO THE BEAUFORT SEA SAT. THE UKMET IS FURTHER SOUTH WITH THE LOW AND CARRIES THE ENERGY TO THE WEST COAST. THE GFS AND GFS ENSEMBLES EITHER KEEP THE ENERGY IN CANADA OR BRING A WEAKER LOW MUCH FURTHER SOUTH CLOSER TO THE UKMET. FORECASTER CONFIDENCE CONTINUES TO REMAIN LOW. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK THE MAJORITY OF THE MODELS AND ENSEMBLES BUILD A RIDGE ACROSS THE BERING SEA WITH A DOWNSTREAM TROUGH ACROSS MUCH OF THE MAINLAND. DETAILS CONTINUE TO VARY FROM RUN TO RUN...BUT THIS SET UP WILL HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BRINGING VERY COLD AIR BACK INTO NORTHERN AK. THE OPERATIONAL GFS DEVELOPS A YAKUTAT LOW BY LATE IN THE WEEK...WITH THE PATTERN EVERY BIT AS COLD AS THE COLD SNAP OF LATE DECEMBER INTO THE FIRST 11 DAYS OF THE MONTH. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ203-AKZ204. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230- PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. && CF JAN 09
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
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 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: 141995.