Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast
- When
- March 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 10:29 AM AKST
- Where
- Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Blizzard in Alaska, March 1, 2009
Event continued from February. A 976 mb low near the northern Kamchatka Peninsula on the afternoon of February 26th tracked across the Chukotsk Peninsula during the afternoon of the 27th, and into the southern Chukchi Sea on the evening the 27th as a 983 mb low.
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.
Event continued from February. A 976 mb low near the northern Kamchatka Peninsula on the afternoon of February 26th tracked across the Chukotsk Peninsula during the afternoon of the 27th, and into the southern Chukchi Sea on the evening the 27th as a 983 mb low. The low then tracked northeast across the Arctic Ocean on the 28th and northeast across the Beaufort Sea on March 1st. The storm brought blizzard conditions to much of the arctic coast which continued into the morning hours of the 1st in zones 201, 202 and 205..and through the afternoon of the 1st in zone 203.
Zone 201: Blizzard conditions were observed from the early morning hours on the 28th (February) through the late morning hours of the 1st. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less at Point Lay in snow and blowing snow. The Point Lay AWOS had a peak wind gust of 54 mph/47kt. similar conditions were also observed at Atqasuk and Wainwright. The Atqasuk AWSS had a peak wind gust to 53 mph/46kt, and the Wainwright ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 52 mph/45kt.
Zone 202: Blizzard conditions were observed at Barrow during the afternoon and evening hours on the 28th (February). The blizzard conditions continued into the morning of the 1st. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter of a mile and the Barrow ASOS had a peak wind gust of 48 mph/42kt.
Zone 203: Blizzard conditions were observed at Deadhorse, Kuparuk, and Nuiqsut during the morning and afternoon hours on the 1st. The visibility was frequently reduced to one-quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. The wind gusted as high as 41 mph/36kt at the Kuparuk SAWRS, and 52 mph/45kt at the Deadhorse ASOS.
Zone 205: Blizzard conditions likely occurred from about noon on the 27th (February) through the early morning hours on the 1st. This is based on conditions observed in passes of the northeastern Brooks Range (Anaktuvuk Pass) as well as the Kelly RAWS (KELA2) in zone 208. The Ikpikpuk automated stream gage (IKPA2) in zone 205 also reported sustained winds of up to 43 mph/37kt.
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 28, 1:34 PM AKST, 10 hours 26 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 1:34 PM AKST, 10 hours 26 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 134 PM AKST SAT FEB 28 2009 .DISCUSSION... MODELS ACTUALLY IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH 60 HOURS WITH ONLY THE LAST 24 HOURS DIFFERING ONLY REALLY WITH TIMING OF NEW LOW MOVING INTO THE NORTHERN BERING SEA. CURRENTLY...WARM FRONT HAS PUSHED WELL NORTH OF THE ARCTIC COAST WITH TRAILING OCCLUDED FRONT MOVING EAST ACROSS THE STATE IN WELL DEFINED SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW. OCCLUDED FRONT IN THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE STATE MOVING EASTWARD. SIGNIFICANT COLD ADVECTION ENTERING NORTHWEST COAST AND RAMPING UP WINDS. THIS SYNOPTIC SITUATION HAS PRODUCED THE HIGHEST 1 DAY SNOWFALL TOTALS IN MANY AREAS IN THE INTERIOR TODAY. COLDER AIR WILL MOVE ONTO THE WEST COAST TONIGHT AND THEN MOVE THROUGH THE NORTHERN INTERIOR THROUGH SUNDAY. COLDER AIR WILL REMAIN THROUGHOUT NORTHERN ALASKA THROUGH THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS BUT WILL GIVE WAY SLIGHTLY TO THE NEXT APPROACHING BERING STORM ON MONDAY. THIS LOW IS NOT ADVERTISED TO PRODUCE AS MUCH SNOWFALL AS THIS PAST ONE AND THE WINDS WILL CERTAINLY NOT BE AS SEVERE AS THIS PAST ONE THAT AFFECTED SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND IN DRAMATIC FASHION. THE NEXT STORM WHICH IS CURRENTLY ADVERTISED BE VERY SIGNIFICANT IS CURRENTLY SLOTTED TO MAKE AN ARRIVAL ON THE WEST COAST EARLY NEXT THURSDAY. THIS SHOWS SIGNS OF BEING A MAJOR IMPACT TO THE WEST COAST IN TERMS OD WIND...SNOW...AND BLOWING SNOW. STAY TUNED FOR THIS ONE. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ205-AKZ206- AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ217-AKZ220. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ225-PKZ230. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ235-PKZ240- PKZ245. && CF FEB 09
Event by event
4 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Northern Arctic Coast
- When
- March 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 10:35 AM AKST
- Where
- Northern Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Blizzard, N. Brooks Rng Colville Rvr W
- When
- March 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 1:00 AM AKST
- Where
- N. Brooks Rng Colville Rvr W forecast zone
- Reported by
- RAWS
Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- March 1, 8:30 AM AKST to 5:46 PM AKST
- Where
- Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
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
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in North Carolina, March 1 to 2, 2009
- Winter Storm in Maryland, March 1 to 2, 2009
- Heavy Snow in New York, March 1 to 2, 2009
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Georgia, March 1 to 2, 2009
- Winter Storm in Missouri, March 1, 2009
- Drought in Texas, March 1 to 31, 2009
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, March 1 to 2, 2009
- Winter Storm in Delaware, March 1 to 2, 2009
- Flash Flood and Winter Storm in California, March 1 to 4, 2009
- Drought in Texas, March 1 to 31, 2009
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, March 1 to 2, 2009
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Tennessee, March 1, 2009
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 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: 149500, 149501, 149503, 153448.