Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- October 21, 9:53 PM AKST to October 22, 1:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Blizzard in Alaska, October 21 to 22, 2009
A strong pressure gradient between a 1032 mb high well off the north coast of Alaska in the Arctic Ocean, and a 973 mb low near Kodiak Island, produced a period of strong winds along the Central Beaufort Sea Coast from late on the evening of the 21st through the afternoon hours of the 22nd. The strong winds combined with falling snow to produce blizzard conditions.
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 between a 1032 mb high well off the north coast of Alaska in the Arctic Ocean, and a 973 mb low near Kodiak Island, produced a period of strong winds along the Central Beaufort Sea Coast from late on the evening of the 21st through the afternoon hours of the 22nd. The strong winds combined with falling snow to produce blizzard conditions. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less. The wind at the Deadhorse ASOS frequently gusted above 50 mph, with a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
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 Oct 21, 2:16 PM AKST, 7 hours 37 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Oct 21, 2:16 PM AKST, 7 hours 37 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 316 PM AKDT WED OCT 21 2009 .DISCUSSION... THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH FRIDAY AT BOTH THE SURFACE AND ALOFT. AN UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER NORTHERN ALASKA WILL MOVE WEST TO THE BERING STRAIT BY THURSDAY EVENING...THEN SOUTH TO THE NORTH BERING SEA BY SATURDAY MORNING. THIS WILL PRODUCE A SOUTHERLY FLOW INTO THE INTERIOR BRINGING WARMER AIR ALOFT. A SERIES OF SURFACE LOWS WILL MOVE INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA THROUGH SUNDAY CREATING EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS OVER MOST OF THE STATE...STRONGEST ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST AS AN ARCTIC HIGH 550 NM NORTH OF BARROW SLOWLY RETREATS TO THE NORTHEAST. INTERIOR...EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS WILL PERSIST THROUGH FRIDAY WITH GUSTS 25 TO 30 MPH AND BLOWING SNOW OVER HIGHER TERRAIN. A FEW FLURRIES ARE POSSIBLE THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT IN THE CENTRAL INTERIOR WITH SNOW, SNOW SHOWERS AND BLOWING SNOW ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BROOKS RANGE. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS TO 2 INCHES POSSIBLE. SKIES WILL REMAIN CLOUDY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A SLIGHT WARMING TREND INTO THE WEEKEND OVER THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR. WEST COAST...ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS AND FLURRIES POSSIBLE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY FROM THE SEWARD PENINSULA NORTH. MOSTLY DRY OVER THE SOUTHWEST UNTIL THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY WHEN SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS DEVELOP...NO LARGE ACCUMULATIONS EXPECTED. WINDS WILL CONTINUE FROM THE EAST AND NORTHEAST OVER THE AREA WITH THE STRONGEST ALONG THE COAST AT 20 TO 30 MPH. LITTLE CHANGE IN THE TEMPERATURES THROUGH THE WEEKEND. NORTH SLOPE...THIS IS THE AREA WITH THE MOST NOTEWORTHY WEATHER AS VERY STRONG EASTERLY WINDS BLOW AT GALE FORCE FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS ALONG AND OFFSHORE THE ARCTIC COAST. EXPECT AREAS OF SNOW, BLOWING SNOW, AND FOG TO REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THROUGH TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE OUT FOR ZONES 202 AND 203 DUE TO BLOWING SNOW. SNOWFALL OF 1 TO 2 INCHES THIS EVENING WILL BEGIN TO TAPER OFF NEAR MIDNIGHT. ZONE 204 HAS A STRONG WIND HEADLINE AS WINDS ARE VERY STRONG BUT VISIBILITY HAS BEEN ONLY REDUCED TO 1 TO 3 MILES. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .HYDROLOGY...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ202-AKZ203. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235- PKZ240-PKZ245. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225. && RL OCT 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, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 194876.