Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- December 28, 4:00 AM AKST to 8:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Extreme Cold in Alaska, December 28 to 29, 2010
Temperatures near 30 below combined with a west wind of around 20 mph at Barter Island to produce wind chills as low as 61 below from approximately 0400AKST through 0800AKST on the 28th. Although the 60 below wind chills were observed for only about 4 hours, the wind chills the remainder of the day on the 28th were mainly in the 55 to 60 below range.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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.
Temperatures near 30 below combined with a west wind of around 20 mph at Barter Island to produce wind chills as low as 61 below from approximately 0400AKST through 0800AKST on the 28th. Although the 60 below wind chills were observed for only about 4 hours, the wind chills the remainder of the day on the 28th were mainly in the 55 to 60 below range. At Deadhorse, temperatures of 40 below combined with a southwest wind of 15 mph to produce wind chills as low as 75 below from approximately 0700AKST until 1700AKST on the 29th.
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 Dec 27, 1:38 PM AKST, 14 hours 22 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 27, 1:38 PM AKST, 14 hours 22 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 138 PM AKST MON DEC 27 2010 .DISCUSSION... MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH 60 HOURS. UPPER LEVEL TROUGH CONTINUES TO DIG SOUTHWEST FROM BANKS ISLAND. UPPER LEVEL LOW IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD WARMER AIR NORTHWARD FROM THE SOUTHEAST. THE REMAINS OF A WASHED OUT OCCLUDED FRONT OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA COAST IS SPREADING SOME LIGHT SNOW INTO THE SOUTHEASTERN PORTION OF NORTHERN ALASKA. THIS IS COMBINING WITH SOME OVERRUNNING MOISTURE BUT MOST OF THE MOISTURE IS STAYING SOUTH OF THE ALASKA RANGE. THE UPPER LEVEL LOW JUST NORTH OF BARTER ISLAND WILL SLIDE SOUTHWEST TO NEAR THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE SEWARD PENINSULA BY WED AFTERNOON. THE COLDEST AIR ALOFT WILL BE ORIENTED FROM NORTH OF A LINE OF ABOUT ARCTIC VILLAGE SOUTHWEST TO UNALAKLEET. MEANWHILE AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL BEGIN BUILDING INTO THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE STATE SOUTH OF ARCTIC VILLAGE THROUGH WED. THE HIGH PRESSURE OVER FAR EAST RUSSIA IS WAY UNDER DONE BY THE MODELS SO THE WINDS THAT MOS IS PRODUCING IS UNDER ACTUAL. THE HIGH PRESSURE IN FAR EAST RUSSIA AND THE LOW IN THE GULF OF ALASKA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR TH TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER THE WEST COAST AND THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE STATE. THE COLD AIR THAT IS PILED UP THROUGH THE BERING STRAIT APPEARS TO TAKE UP LONG TERM RESIDENCY...AT LEAST THROUGH THE NEXT 240 HOURS ACCORDING TO THE MODELS. THE PRESSURE GRADIENT WILL RELAX OVER THE CENTRAL INTERIOR BY TUE MORNING OR AFTERNOON BUT THEN FORM AGAIN IN ABOUT 24 TO 36 HOURS WITH A MODERATELY STRONG LOW MOVING RAPIDLY EASTWARD ALONG THE ALEUTIAN CHAIN. THE ARCTIC COAST WILL LIKELY SEE COLD TEMPERATURES FOR THE NEXT 10 DAYS OR SO AS WELL...ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE BASED ON CLOUD COVER FOR THE MOST PART. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ217-AKZ218. WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ206. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ213-AKZ219-AKZ220. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ210. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ220. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ225. && CF DEC 10
Event by event
2 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- December 29, 7:00 AM AKST to 5:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
What these are
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Debris Flow and Coastal Flood in California, December 28 to 29, 2010
- Wildfire in Florida, December 28, 2010
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Washington, December 28 to 29, 2010
- Winter Storm and Lake-Effect Snow in Utah, December 28 to 31, 2010
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in California, December 28 to 29, 2010
- Winter Storm in Montana, December 28 to 30, 2010
- Winter Storm in Utah, December 28 to 31, 2010
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in Idaho, December 28 to 29, 2010
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 28 to 30, 2010
- Drought in Texas, December 28 to 31, 2010
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, December 28 to 29, 2010
- Drought in Mississippi, December 28 to 31, 2010
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2010
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: 267572, 267571.