Blizzard, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- February 13, 4:00 PM AKST to February 15, 1:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, February 13 to 15, 2011
A 978 mb low along the coast of Kamchatka combined with a 1030 mb high across the southern interior of Alaska to produce snow and high winds on Saint Lawrence Island and along parts of the Bering Strait Coast. Blizzard conditions were observed at Gambell, Savoonga and Wales.
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.
A 978 mb low along the coast of Kamchatka combined with a 1030 mb high across the southern interior of Alaska to produce snow and high winds on Saint Lawrence Island and along parts of the Bering Strait Coast. Blizzard conditions were observed at Gambell, Savoonga and Wales. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less with white-out conditions at times. A second 998 mb low several hundred miles off the arctic coast combined with the high across the interior to produce blizzard conditions along parts of the arctic coast. The most severe blizzard conditions were observed at Barter Island along the eastern Beaufort Sea coast.
Zone 201: Blizzard conditions were observed at Atqasuk from approximately 1918AKST on the 13th through 0229AKST on the 14th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. A peak wind gust of 42 kt (48 mph) was observed at the Atqasuk AWSS.
Zone 203: Blizzard conditions were observed at Deadhorse from approximately 2230AKST on the 13th through 1730AKST on the 14th. The wind frequently gusted over 35 mph, however, at times the wind gusts were not over 35 mph but the visibility remained one quarter mile or less in blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 36 kt (41 mph) at the Deadhorse ASOS. Blizzard conditions were observed at Kuparuk from approximately 0500AKST on the 14th through 1700AKST on the 14th. There was a peak wind gust of 37 kt (42 mph) at the Kuparuk SAWRS.
Zone 204: Blizzard conditions began at Barter Island at approximately 1600AKST on the 13th and continued until approximately 0100AKST on the 15th. The ending time of the blizzard conditions were estimated as the sensor stopped reporting data midway through the event. Prior to the outage, there was a peak wind gust of 51kt (59 mph) at the Barter Island AWSS.
Zone 213: Blizzard conditions were observed at Savoonga from 1136AKST on the 14th through 0656AKST on the 15th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less. There was a peak wind gust of 62 kt (71 mph) at the Savoonga AWOS. Blizzard conditions were observed at Wales at times from 1908AKST on the 14th through 1851AKST on the 15th. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less. There was a peak wind gust of 63kt (72 mph) at the Wales AWSS. Blizzard conditions were also observed at Gambell at times from 1416AKST on the 14th through 0356AKST on the 15th, although conditions were not as severe as observed at Savoonga and Wales. A peak wind gust of 40 kt (46 mph) was observed at the Gambell AWOS.
Zone 218: Unofficial wind gusts to 61 kt/70 mph were reported at Chandalar AKDOT Maintenance Camp on the 14th.
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 13, 1:30 PM AKST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 13, 1:30 PM AKST, 2 hours 30 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 130 PM AKST SUN FEB 13 2011 .DISCUSSION... MODELS FAIRLY SIMILAR THROUGH ABOUT 60 HOURS. A FAIRLY STRONG SURFACE LOW IN THE HIGH ARCTIC CONTINUES TO WEAKEN AND DROP SOUTHEAST AND WILL END UP NEAR BANKS ISLAND AT 1012 MB BY LATE MON NIGHT. THE WELL AMPLIFIED RIDGE IN THE BERING WILL CONTINUE TO EVER SO SLOWLY MOVE EASTWARD WHILE A STRONG LOW MOVES OUT OF KAMCHATKA. THE RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE INTERIOR OF NORTHERN ALASKA WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD EAST AS THE SURFACE RIDGE IN THE BERING SEA MOVES EAST AND STRENGTHENS THE HIGH OVER CENTRAL ALASKA. THIS WILL PUSH WARMER AIR ALOFT INTO THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE STATE. THE RIDGE WILL BEGIN WEAKENING OVER THE INTERIOR BY MON NIGHT AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE PUSHES EASTWARD. THE FIRST LOW THAT WILL IMPACT THE AREA THAT IS CURRENTLY NEAR KAMCHATKA WILL FUNCTION AS THE IMPETUS TO DRIVE THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE TO THE EAST. THIS LOW WILL LOSE MUCH OF ITS ENERGY AS IT GETS STRUNG OUT ALONG THE RIDGE BUT CERTAINLY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL MAKE IT INTO THE WEST COAST LATE MON NIGHT AND TUE. THEN THE FRONT WILL ATTEMPT TO DRIVE EASTWARD WHILE MOVING THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE EASTWARD AS WELL. PROBABLY ONLY SOME SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE LEFT AS THE FRONT PASSES RUBY OR BETTLES ON WED. GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF COLD AIR ALOFT AND AT THE SURFACE...THERE APPEARS TO BE QUITE A POOL OF AIR TO OVERRUN WITH MOISTURE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS TO EXTRACT ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL FROM. THE NEXT LOW WILL HAVE A MUCH STRONGER PUNCH AND WILL REMAIN MUCH DEEPER FOR A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME AS IT STRIKES THE WEST COAST SOMETIME WED NIGHT. THIS FRONT WILL LIKELY HOLD TOGETHER FOR MOST OF ITS TRIP ACROSS THE STATE. THEN THE MODELS POINT IN SOME RESPECT TO THE CONSISTENT ZONAL FLOW THROUGH 240 HOURS WHICH COULD DRIVE MOISTURE INTO NORTHERN ALASKA FOR SEVERAL DAYS. COLD AIR IN THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR WILL MODERATE A LITTLE THROUGH THE WEEK BUT STILL REMAIN FAIRLY COOL THROUGH AT LEAST FRI BUT LIKELY LONGER. HOWEVER...THERE WILL BE SUFFICIENT CLOUD COVER OVER THE AREA SO THE REALLY COLD SURFACE TEMPERATURES WILL BE GREATLY MODIFIED BECAUSE OF THE CLOUD COVER. WIND CHILL ADVISORIES ON THE ARCTIC COAST AND THE WEST COAST WILL LIKELY BE ENDING FOR THE MOST PART BY EARLY MON MORNING AS THE WINDS DIMINISH WITH THE BUILDING OF THE UPPER LEVEL AND SURFACE RIDGE OVER WESTERN ALASKA. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ205-AKZ206-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ225- AKZ226. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ210. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ245. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. && CF FEB 11
Event by event
4 blizzard, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast
- When
- February 13, 7:18 PM AKST to February 14, 2:29 AM AKST
- Where
- Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- February 13, 10:30 PM AKST to February 14, 5:30 PM AKST
- Where
- Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
High Wind, S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range
- When
- February 14, 9:00 AM AKST to 5:00 PM AKST
- Where
- S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range forecast zone
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- Department of Highways
Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait
- When
- February 14, 11:36 AM AKST to February 15, 6:51 PM AKST
- Where
- St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
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.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in North Dakota, February 13, 2011
- High Wind in Montana, February 13, 2011
- High Wind in North Dakota, February 13, 2011
- High Wind in South Dakota, February 13, 2011
- Wildfire in Arkansas, February 13 to 17, 2011
- High Wind in Nebraska, February 13, 2011
- Flash Flood and Flooding in Montana, February 13 to 25, 2011
- High Wind in Colorado, February 13, 2011
- High Wind in Minnesota, February 13, 2011
- Winter Storm in Wyoming, February 13, 2011
- High Wind in Idaho, February 13, 2011
- High Wind in South Dakota, February 13, 2011
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 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: 274567, 274577, 274575, 277092, 274563.