Name: Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, November 11 to 13, 2009
Start: 2009-11-11T07:00
End: 2009-11-13T12:00
Location: Alaska

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 955 mb near Nome at 9 am on the 11th tracked across the Seward Peninsula and slowly weakened to 982 mb near Selawik by 3 pm on the 12th. The low brought a moist westerly flow into the interior, and produced heavy snowfall in the Upper Koyukuk Valley, parts of the Central Interior, and across the higher elevations in the Middle Tanana Valley around Fairbanks. Here are some snowfall reports that were received from this event:

Zone 219: Heavy snow fell in Bettles with a storm total of 25.3 inches (three day total from the 11th through the 13th). The heaviest snow fell on the 12th, with a 24 hour total of 14.2 inches.

Zone 220: Blizzard conditions likely occurred along parts of the Steese Highway in the vicinity of Eagle Summit from the late afternoon hours on the 12th through the late morning hours on the 13th. According to a statement from the State of Alaska DOT, travel was not advised on the Steese Highway MP 101 to MP 121. Strong winds, heavy snow and drifting snow were reported with low to zero visibility.

Zone 221: Heavy snow fell in parts of the Central Interior. The Manley DOT observed a total of 11 inches of snow in Manley, and estimated that one to two feet of snow fell over the higher elevations along the Elliot Highway.

Zone 222: Heavy snow fell on the hills around Fairbanks with storm totals of 9 to 15 inches. In the valleys storm totals were generally in the 2 to 6 inch range. Here are a few of the higher snowfall totals that were observed from this event:

Keystone Ridge: 15.5 inches|Mile 42 Steese Highway: 12.0 inches|Fort knox Mine: 9.0 inches.

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 Nov 11, 5:47 AM AKST, 1 hour 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 11, 5:47 AM AKST, 1 hour 13 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
547 AM AKST WED NOV 11 2009

.DISCUSSION...
STORM CENTER NOW SOUTH OF SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND HAS
LIKELY DEEPENED TO 965-970 MB AND WILL LIKELY REACH
MAXIMUM DEPTH OF 955-960 MB AS IT APPROACHES THE
NOME AREA LATER THIS MORNING. THE STORM WILL LIKELY
REMAIN AT OR NEAR MAXIMUM DEPTH THROUGH 00Z THU. CURRENT
GFS/ETA/NAM PROJECTIONS FOR 12Z THU AGREE FAIRLY WELL...PLACING
THE LOW CENTER JUST EAST OR SOUTHEAST OF KOTZEBUE FILLING TO
970-973 MB.

ONGOING COASTAL FLOOD WATCHES/WARNINGS AND WINTER
STORM WARNINGS FOR THE WEST COAST ZONES WILL BE
CONTINUED WITH NO CHANGE IN EXPIRATION TIME.
CURRENT STORM SURGE MODEL RUN SHOWS NUMBERS
ABOUT A FOOT LESS THAN THE PREVIOUS RUN...BUT
STILL VERY HIGH LEVELS FOR EASTERN SHORELINE AREAS
OF NORTON SOUND. WEST WINDS TO 60 MPH ACROSS NORTON
SOUND TODAY WILL PRODUCE HIGH WAVES AND STORM SURGE
TO 9 FEET. MAJOR COASTAL FLOODING IS EXPECTED ALONG
THE EASTERN SHORELINE AREAS OF NORTON SOUND IN A
STORM WHICH IS COULD TO BE ONE OF THE WORST ON RECORD OVER THAT
AREA.

WINTER STORM WATCHES FOR ZONES 218-219-221 HAVE BEEN UPGRADED TO
WINTER STORM WARNINGS AS HEAVY SNOW SPREADS EAST. MINIMUM BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP IN ZONES 201-202 LATER TODAY AS EAST WINDS
INCREASE.

COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4... NORTH WINDS TO 30 KT
OVER THE CHUKCHI SEA WILL CONTINUE HIGH SEAS OVER THAT AREA AND IN
THE BERING STRAIT. HIGH SURF POSSIBLE AT DIOMEDE AND THE EXTREME
WESTERN PARTS OF THE NORTHERN SEWARD PENINSULA COAST. NORTH WINDS
INCREASING TO 40 KT SAT CONTINUING THROUGH SAT EVENING WILL BRING
SEAS UP TO 12-14 FT OVER THE SOUTHERN CHUKCHI SEA AND BERING
STRAIT. NORTH WINDS TO 25-30 MPH IN THE SHISHMAREF AREA.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
COASTAL FLOOD WARNING FOR AKZ207-AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ213-AKZ214.

BLIZZARD WATCH FOR AKZ201-AKZ202.

COASTAL FLOOD WATCH FOR AKZ210.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ210-AKZ211-
AKZ212-AKZ213-AKZ214-AKZ215-AKZ216-AKZ217-AKZ218-AKZ219-AKZ221-
AKZ227.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ220-AKZ225.

HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240-
PKZ245.

STORM WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210.
&&

RF NOV 09

Event by event

3 heavy snow, 1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Upper Koyukuk Valley

When: November 11, 7:00 AM AKST to November 13, 12:00 PM AKST
Where: Upper Koyukuk Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Heavy Snow, Middle Tanana Valley

When: November 11, 12:00 PM AKST to November 13, 3:00 AM AKST
Where: Middle Tanana Valley forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer

Heavy Snow, Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly

When: November 11, 12:00 PM AKST to November 13, 12:00 PM AKST
Where: Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

Blizzard, Yukon Flats Nearby Uplands

When: November 12, 5:00 PM AKST to November 13, 10:00 AM AKST
Where: Yukon Flats Nearby Uplands forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
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 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, November 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: 196630, 196639, 197037, 198430.