Blizzard, Nern P.W. Snd
- When
- December 26, 9:00 AM AKST to December 27, 2:30 AM AKST
- Where
- Nern P.W. Snd forecast zone
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
Blizzard in Alaska, December 26 to 27, 2011
A strong low moved into the northern Gulf of Alaska resulting in snow in the Chugach Mountains and strong wind through Thompson Pass. Blizzard conditions occurred through Thompson Pass during this storm.
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 AFC wrote it up.
A strong low moved into the northern Gulf of Alaska resulting in snow in the Chugach Mountains and strong wind through Thompson Pass. Blizzard conditions occurred through Thompson Pass during this storm.
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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 26, 5:00 AM AKST, 4 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 26, 5:00 AM AKST, 4 hours before
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK 500 AM AKST MON DEC 26 2011 .ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS... UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER AK AND THE BERING SEA THIS MORNING WITH AN EMBEDDED CLOSED UPPER LEVEL OVER SW AK. ANOTHER CLOSED LOW IS WELL SOUTH OF SHEMYA...AND UPPER RIDGES ARE OVER WESTERN BRITISH COLUMBIA AND THE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA. AT THE SURFACE...A DEEP LOW IS ENTERING THE SOUTH GULF OF AK...ANOTHER DEEP LOW IS WELL SOUTH OF THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS...AND HIGH PRESSURE IS OVER THE BERING SEA. .MODEL DISCUSSION... MODELS ARE IN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT IN THE SHORT TERM...BRINGING THE FIRST GULF OF AK LOW TO THE NORTHEAST GULF COAST THIS EVENING AND THEN TURNING SHARPLY INTO PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND TUE MORNING. THE LOW CURRENTLY SOUTH OF SHEMYA WILL BE THE NEXT MAJOR FEATURE. MODELS ARE IN EXCELLENT AGREEMENT THROUGH TUE MORNING...BRINGING THE LOW TOWARD THE GULF OF AK. AT THIS POINT THE MODELS DIVERGE A BIT WITH MOST TAKING THE LOW INTO SE AK WED MORNING. DESPITE THIS TRAJECTORY...THE LOW STILL MANAGES TO REFORM OVER WESTERN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND THU MORNING. THE FORECAST UTILIZES THE GFS FOR THE INITIAL LOW BUT THEN TENDS TO THE EC SOLUTION OF BRINGING THE SECOND LOW INTO SE AK. WHILE THE GFS IS THE ONLY MODEL THAT ACTUALLY KEEPS THE SECOND LOW OVER WATER DURING ITS JOURNEY TO THE SOUND...IT HAS HAD CONSISTENCY PROBLEMS RECENTLY AND WAS NOT SEEN AS THE MODEL OF CHOICE. IN THE EXTENDED PERIODS THE FORECAST UTILIZED THE HPC SOLUTION. .SHORT TERM FORECAST... IN THE WEST...SNOW SHOWERS ON NORTHWEST FLOW WILL PERSIST THROUGH THU. FOR SW AK..CONDITIONS WILL BE DRY EXCEPT FOR SOME SHOWER ACTIVITY NEAR THE AK AND ALEUTIAN RANGE TUE IN RESPONSE TO WRAPAROUND MOISTURE FROM THE FIRST PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND LOW. SOUTH AND EAST OF THE AK RANGE...THE APPROACHING LOW WILL CREATE WIND AND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THROUGH THOMPSON PASS TODAY AND TONIGHT. SNOW WILL AFFECT THE COAST TODAY AND CROSS COASTAL MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT. SHOWERS WILL SLOWLY DIMINISH THROUGH TUE NIGHT. THE SECOND LOW WILL BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF SNOW MAINLY EAST OF THE KENAI PENINSULA WED THROUGH THU...WITH SOME SHOWERS CROSSING THE KENAI AND CHUGACH MOUNTAINS INTO INLAND AREAS. .LONG TERM FORECAST... SHOWERS WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH IN THE WEST THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND SW AK WILL REMAIN DRY AS THE BERING RIDGE BUILDS EAST. SE OF THE AK RANGE WILL HAVE PERSISTENT SHOWERS AS LOW PRESSURE REMAINS OVER THE NORTHERN GULF THROUGH THE WEEKEND. .AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY PUBLIC...BLIZZARD WARNING 131 MARINE...GALES 120 121 130 132 150 155 172 175 176 HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY121 129 130 132 138 140 141 150 160 180 185 FIRE WEATHER...NONE DS DEC 11
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
- Flood in Louisiana, December 26, 2011
- High Wind in Wyoming, December 26, 2011
- Winter Storm and High Wind in Alaska, December 26 to 27, 2011
- High Wind in Texas, December 26, 2011
- Flash Flooding in Mississippi, December 26, 2011
- High Wind in Montana, December 26, 2011
- Flood in Arkansas, December 26 to 27, 2011
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2011
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: 353102.