Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- February 19, 10:02 AM AKST to February 20, 6:45 AM AKST
- Where
- Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Blizzard in Alaska, February 19 to 21, 2010
A stationary 1056 mb high 600 miles north of Wrangel Island combined with several weak waves of low pressure that tracked north along the west coast of Alaska to produce a strong pressure gradient along the Arctic coast. An east wind of 25 to 40 mph produced significant blowing and drifting snow.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 stationary 1056 mb high 600 miles north of Wrangel Island combined with several weak waves of low pressure that tracked north along the west coast of Alaska to produce a strong pressure gradient along the Arctic coast. An east wind of 25 to 40 mph produced significant blowing and drifting snow. The moisture that was associated with the low also produced falling snow along much of the western and northern Arctic coast. Blizzard conditions were observed, with the visibility frequently less than one quarter mile. White-out conditions were observed at times. The worst conditions were observed along the western Arctic coast where the blizzard conditions persisted for 48 hours.
Zone 201: According to local law enforcement in the village of Atquasuk snow drifts of 12 to 16 feet were observed when the blizzard ended. There were public accounts of snow drifts that were estimated to be about 5 feet in the village of Wainwright. A peak wind gust of 44 kt/51 mph was observed at the Wainwright ASOS.
Zone 202: A peak gust of 38kt/44 mph was observed during this event at the Barrow ASOS.
Zone 203: A peak wind gust of 40kt/46 mph was observed during this event at the Deadhorse ASOS.
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 19, 4:12 AM AKST, 5 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 19, 4:12 AM AKST, 5 hours 50 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 412 AM AKST FRI FEB 19 2010 .DISCUSSION... MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH THE EARLY STAGES GOING OUT TO ABOUT 60 HOURS OR SO. SOLUTIONS DIFFER GREATLY IN MID RANGE MODELS. HUGE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WELL LOCKED IN FROM PANHANDLE OF ALASKA TO ARCTIC COAST OF FAR EAST RUSSIA. THIS RIDGE IS SUPPLYING A PLETHORA OF WARM AIR FOR MOST OF NORTHERN ALASKA. ENOUGH WARM AIR THAT MUCH OF THE PRECIPITATION TO FALL COULD BE FREEZING RAIN OR EVEN RAIN AFTER THE PASSAGE OF THE WARM FRONT. WEAK UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL MOVE INTO THE BERING AND ATTEMPT TO MOVE A SHORTWAVE THROUGH THE WEST SIDE OF THE RIDGE. THE UNREASONABLE AND UNSEASONABLE WARM TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN IN NORTHERN ALASKA THROUGH THE MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK. STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER NORTHWEST CANADIAN TERRITORY WITH SIGNIFICANT COLD AIR WILL DECIDE TO SLIP SOUTHWEST AND SPILL MUCH COLDER AIR OVER NORTHERN ALASKA BY MID WEEK. WITH LARGE AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE WELL NORTH OF THE ARCTIC COAST AND LOW MOVING NORTHWARD FROM GULF OF ALASKA WILL INCREASE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER ARCTIC COAST AND WEST COAST THROUGH FIRST PART OF NEXT WEEK. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ225-AKZ226. FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY FOR AKZ212-AKZ214-AKZ215-AKZ216. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230- PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. && CF FEB 10
Event by event
3 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Northern Arctic Coast
- When
- February 19, 6:53 PM AKST to February 20, 8:38 AM AKST
- Where
- Northern Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast
- When
- February 19, 8:00 PM AKST to February 21, 8:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
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 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 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: 207364, 207432, 207580.