The combination of a strong 1050 mb high across the southern interior of Alaska and a 992 mb that passed about 400 miles north of Barrow on the afternoon of the 17th produced strong winds, heavy snow, and blizzard conditions across parts of Northwest Alaska on the 17th. Here are some of the reports that were received: Zone 207: strong winds occurred at Kivalina during the morning and afternoon…
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.
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
The combination of a strong 1050 mb high across the southern interior of Alaska and a 992 mb that passed about 400 miles north of Barrow on the afternoon of the 17th produced strong winds, heavy snow, and blizzard conditions across parts of Northwest Alaska on the 17th. Here are some of the reports that were received:
Zone 207: strong winds occurred at Kivalina during the morning and afternoon hours on the 17th. The Kivalina Fire Chief reported 2 inches of snow with blowing snow and small drifts. It did not appear that there were blizzard conditions, but there was a report that a Ham Radio antenna was damaged as a result of the strong wind. A peak wind gust of 43 kt (49 mph) was observed at the Kivalina ASOS.
Zone 208: Blizzard conditions were observed at Red Dog mine during the day on the 17th and the white-out conditions caused the mine to shut down operations during the day. The blizzard conditions began sometime prior to 6 am and they continued into the evening hours.
Zone 217: Heavy snow was observed at Kobuk on the 17th that continued into the 18th. A trained weather observer in Kobuk measured a total of 18.6 inches of snow.
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 16, 4:31 PM AKST, 7 hours 30 minutes earlier.
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 431 PM AKST TUE NOV 16 2010 .SYNOPSIS... ALOFT... THE STRONG RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN BERING AND WESTERN ALASKA WILL BUILD EAST OVER MAINLAND ALASKA WED AND FORM AN OMEGA BLOCK. EXPECT THIS RIDGE TO PERSIST INTO THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT WARMING OVER THE STATE WED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SURFACE... A 1050 MB HIGH OVER SOUTHWEST ALASKA WILL MOVE OVER THE INTERIOR OF ALASKA TONIGHT AND PERSIST OVER THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR INTO THU. CLEARING SKIES AND COLD TEMPERATURES ARE OCCURRING UNDER THIS FEATURE WITH LOWS OF 10 TO 30 BELOW. THERE ARE PATCHY FLURRIES AND FOG IN VALLEYS AS WELL. THIS HIGH IS CAUSING STRONG GRADIENT WINDS TO DEVELOP ALONG THE WEST AND ARCTIC COASTS TONIGHT. A STRONG LOW WEST OF WRANGEL ISLAND WILL MOVE TO 600 NM NORTH OF BARROW AS A 991 MB BY 3PM WED...AND TO WRANGEL ISLAND AS A 991 MB LOW BY 3AM THU. A WARM FRONT FROM THE LOW TO THE BERING STRAIT WILL MOVE TO ANAKTUVUK TO PRUDHOE BAY BY 3AM WED AND TO ARCTIC VILLAGE TO BARTER ISLAND NORTH BY 3PM WED. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW AND SOUTH WINDS OF 30-50 KT ALONG THIS FRONT WILL SPREAD EAST WITH THE FRONT CAUSING WIDESPREAD BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ALONG THE COAST FROM THE BERING STRAIT NORTHEAST. STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE WEST OF THE WARM FRONT. WILL SEE 4 INCHES OF SNOW WITH THIS. A TRAILING COLD FRONT WILL MOVE TO THE BARROW TO CAPE LISBURNE TO CHUKOTSK PENINSULA BY 4PM WED...AND TO ALONG THE SOUTH SLOPES OF THE ALASKA RANGE BY 3AM THU...AND TO EAGLE TO POINT HOPE BY 3PM THU. WINDS WILL TURN WEST AND START TO DECREASE BEHIND THE COLD FRONT AS WILL THE SNOWFALL. EXPECT ANOTHER 2-4 INCHES OF SNOW WITH THIS FEATURE. APPEARS AS THOUGH WARMEST TEMPERATURES ARE FROM THE BERING STRAIT SOUTH THROUGH THU SO EXPECT ANY RAIN TO REMAIN FROM THE BERING STRAIT THROUGH THU. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS INITIALIZE WELL AND SHOW SIMILAR SOLUTIONS ALOFT. MODELS DIFFER SOME ON STRENGTH OF SURFACE LOW MOVING EAST ACROSS THE ARCTIC OCEAN NORTH OF BARROW WED. PREFER THE GFS SOLUTION SINCE IT IS DEEPER ON THE LOW CENTER AND CLOSER TO THE CURRENT STRENGTH. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4... SEE CURRENT HEAVY SURF AND SPS FOR WEST COAST AND ARCTIC COAST. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... BLIZZARD WATCH FOR AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ206. BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ205-AKZ207-AKZ208. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR AKZ207-AKZ213. WINTER STORM WATCH FOR AKZ210-AKZ213. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ204-AKZ211. WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ209. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ220. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. STORM WARNING FOR PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ245. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ200. && JB NOV 10
1 strong wind, 1 blizzard, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A Ham antenna was damaged as a result of the strong winds.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, November 2010
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: 261205, 261206, 261208.