Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, December 9 to 11, 2011

Name: Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, December 9 to 11, 2011
Start: 2011-12-09T18:00
End: 2011-12-11T07:00
Location: Alaska

December 9 to 11, 2011 · NWS AFG · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A 955 mb low in the central Bering Sea at 0300AKST on the 10th moved into the Gulf of Anadyr as a 969 mb low by 2100AKST on the 11th. The low then drifted to the west along the Russian Coast and slowly weakened on the 12th.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

Zone 211: Blizzard conditions were observed at Nome from approximately 0944AKST through 1930AKST on the 10th. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust to 46 kt (53 mph) at the Nome ASOS. A total of 4.5 inches of snow was observed at the Nome National Weather Service office. At Golovin, blizzard conditions were observed from approximately 1100AKST through 1900AKST. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust to 46 kt (53 mph) at the Golovin AWOS. According to the city office, people were getting stuck trying to go from their homes to the village store. It was estimated that 4 to 7 inches of snow fell, but it was nearly impossible to measure due to the blowing and drifting snow. According to the village office at White Mountain, it was estimated that in excess of 8 inches of snow fell during the storm.

Zone 212: Heavy snow was observed at Unalakleet, and it was estimated by law enforcement that a total of 12 inches of snow fell during the afternoon and evening hours of the 10th. The snow was difficult to measure due to strong wind that produced significant blowing and drifting snow. There was a peak wind gust to 46 kt (54 mph) at the Unalakleet AWOS. The snow likely ended as a period of freezing rain in spots during the evening.

Zone 213: Blizzard conditions were observed at Gambell from approximately 2030AKST on the 10th until 0700AKST on the 11th. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust to 50 kt (58 mph) at the Gambell AWOS.

Zone 214: Heavy snow was observed in spots along the Yukon Delta from the evening hours on the 9th through the late evening hours on the 10th. A total of 8 inches of heavy wet snow was observed at Saint Marys, with up to one foot at Mountain Village. The snow was difficult to measure due to strong wind which produced significant blowing and drifting snow. It is likely that the snow changed over to freezing rain in spots during the afternoon and early evening hours on the 10th. The wind gusted to 40 kt (46 mph) at the Mountain Village AWWS, and to 38 kt (44 mph) at the Saint Marys AWOS. Along the coast, the wind gusted as high as 51 kt (59 mph) at the Scammon Bay AWSS.

Zone 216: Heavy snow was observed in parts of the middle Yukon Valley from the afternoon hours on the 10th through the early morning hours on the 11th. The Koyukuk Post Office estimated that 8 inches of snow fell, and the Ruby Post Office estimated a storm total of approximately 12 inches.

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 9, 2:19 PM AKST, 3 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 9, 2:19 PM AKST, 3 hours 41 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
219 PM AKST FRI DEC 9 2011

.DISCUSSION...
THE MODELS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING.
THE UPPER AIR FEATURES A LONG WAVE PATTERN OF A DEEP TROUGH OVER
THE BERING AND NW PACIFIC AND A RIDGE OVER THE NE PACIFIC AND
EASTERN ALASKA. THIS WILL PERSIST THROUGH NEXT WEEK. THIS SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE TO BRING A SERIES OF STORMS OVER NORTHERN
ALASKA. THIS WILL ALSO CONTINUE THE ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND
MOISTURE TO MOST OF NORTHERN ALASKA WITH CHINOOK WINDS IN THE
SOUTHEAST INTERIOR ACCOMPANYING EACH STORM.

THE 850 MB TEMPERATURES WILL RISE WITH THE NEXT FRONT COMING INTO
SOUTHWEST ALASKA SATURDAY BRINGING A CHANCE OF FREEZING RAIN
TO THE SOUTHWEST INTERIOR AND WEST COAST SOUTH OF THE BERING STRAIT.

AT THE SURFACE...A 1000 MB LOW 50 NM SOUTH OF BARROW WILL MOVE
NORTHEAST TO THE BEAUFORT SEA BY EARLY SAT MORNING...WEAKENING TO
1006 MB. A STRONG LOW IN THE SOUTHWEST BERING SEA WILL MOVE TO THE
THE CENTRAL BERING SEA AS A 955 MB LOW BY 3PM SAT AND THEN SLOWLY
WEAKEN. A WEATHER FRONT STRETCHING EAST FROM THIS LOW WILL MOVE TO
THE NORTHERN BERING SEA BY 3PM SAT AND INTO THE SOUTHERN CHUKCHI
SEA SUN. EXPECT GALES WITH THIS FRONT. EXPECT 4-8 INCHES OF SNOW
AND BLOWING SNOW ALONG THE WEST COAST ALONG THIS FRONT. THERE WILL
BE AREAS OF FREEZING RAIN WITH THE FRONT FROM THE BERING STRAIT
SOUTH AS WELL. SINCE TEMPERATURES ARE WARM BLIZZARD CONDITIONS
WILL NOT BE AS WIDESPREAD BUT WILL HAVE PLENTY OF WINTER HAZARDS
SO THERE ARE WINTER STORM WATCHES FOR WEST COAST AND SW INTERIOR
ZONES SOUTH OF THE BERING STRAIT.

COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ214-AKZ215-AKZ216.

BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ213.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230.
&&

RL DEC 11

Event by event

2 winter storm, 2 blizzard, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Yukon Delta

When: December 9, 6:00 PM AKST to December 10, 9:00 PM AKST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Reported by: AWSS

Blizzard, Srn Seward Peninsula Coast

When: December 10, 9:44 AM AKST to 7:30 PM AKST
Where: Srn Seward Peninsula Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow, Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys

When: December 10, 12:00 PM AKST to December 11, 6:00 AM AKST
Where: Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys forecast zone
Reported by: Post Office

Winter Storm, Ern Norton Sound Nulato Hills

When: December 10, 1:00 PM AKST to 11:00 PM AKST
Where: Ern Norton Sound Nulato Hills forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: December 10, 8:30 PM AKST to December 11, 7:00 AM AKST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
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.
Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 351833, 351830, 351832, 351834, 351831.