Blizzard in Alaska, February 16 to 17, 2011

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, February 16 to 17, 2011
Start: 2011-02-16T19:36
End: 2011-02-17T23:30
Location: Alaska

February 16 to 17, 2011 · NWS AFG · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

A 970 mb low in the Gulf of Anadyr combined with a 1040 mb high in the Yukon to produce heavy snow and blizzard conditions along a portion of the west coast of Alaska. Zone 207: Blizzard conditions were observed at both Kivalina and Point Hope.

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 970 mb low in the Gulf of Anadyr combined with a 1040 mb high in the Yukon to produce heavy snow and blizzard conditions along a portion of the west coast of Alaska.

Zone 207: Blizzard conditions were observed at both Kivalina and Point Hope. At Kivalina, blizzard conditions were observed from approximately 0100AKST through 1700AKST on the 17th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There were reports of snow drifts of up to 12 feet in the village, and both the school and airfield were closed. There were several search and rescues required for missing persons. A peak wind gust of 49 kt (57 mph) was observed at the Kivalina ASOS.

At Point Hope, blizzard conditions were observed from 0316AKST until approximately 2000AKST. The ending time was estimated as the visibility sensor became inoperable during the event. There was a peak wind gust of 46 kt (55 mph) at the Point Hope AWOS.

Zone 208: Blizzard conditions were observed at Noatak from approximately 0556AKST through 1336AKST on the 17th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 43 kt (49 mph) at the Noatak AWOS.

Zone 209: Blizzard conditions were observed at Kotzebue from approximately 0053AKST through 1300AKST on the 17th. The visibility was reduced to near zero at times with white-out conditions. Due to the severity of the blizzard, the city of Kotzebue closed the city offices and suspended plowing operations. The schools and airport were also closed during the storm. The blizzard conditions likely extended inland to Selawik as the village offices were also reported as being closed.

Zone 213: Blizzard conditions were observed at Savoonga from approximately 1936AKST on the 16th until 2330AKST on the 17th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 59 kt/68 mph at the Savoonga AWOS. Blizzard conditions were also observed at Gambell from approximately 0430AKST through 0730AKST on the morning of the 17th. There was a peak wind gust of 46 kt (53 mph) at the Gambell AWOS. Along the Bering Strait Coast, blizzard conditions were observed at Wales at times during the last evening hours on the 16th into the early morning hours on the 17th. Although there was not a three consecutive hour stretch with the visibility below one quarter mile, there was a peak wind gust of 60 kt/69 mph at the Wales AWSS.

Zone 217: Blizzard conditions were observed at Shungnak from 0822AKST through 1813AKST on the 17th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 50 kt (58 mph) at the Shungnak AWSS. It is also likely that heavy snow fell at Ambler.

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 16, 3:39 AM AKST, 15 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 16, 3:39 AM AKST, 15 hours 57 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
339 AM AKST WED FEB 16 2011

.DISCUSSION...
ALOFT...A SHORTWAVE TROUGH ACROSS THE CHUKOTSK PENINSULA WILL
LIFT NORTHEAST AND WEAKEN TODAY...AND THEN DISSIPATE IN THE VCNTY
OF BARROW TONIGHT. A DEEP LOW ACROSS CENTRAL SIBERIA WILL
GRADUALLY LIFT INTO THE CHUKCHI SEA BY FRI AS ANOTHER STRONG UPPER
LOW IN THE SW BERING SEA MOVES NORTHEAST AND MERGES WITH THE
RUSSIAN LOW.

SURFACE...A 996 MB LOW ACROSS THE CHUKOTSK PENINSULA MOVES NORTH
TODAY AND WEAKENS. A 965 MB LOW IN THE SW BERING SEA EARLY THIS
MORNING HAS A NICE PRESENTATION ON SATELLITE AS IT DEEPENED ABOUT
15 MILLIBARS IN THE LAST 12 HOURS AS IT CONTINUES TO TRACK TO THE
NORTHEAST AT AROUND 45 KTS. THE GFS/ECMWF/NAM/UKMET/GEM ARE IN
EXCELLENT AGREEMENT WITH TRACK AND DEPTH OF THE LOW THROUGH 12Z
FRI. THE GFS IS 2-4 MILLIBARS DEEPER THAN ANY OTHER MODEL...BUT
THAT IS ABOUT THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN THE NEXT 36-48
HOURS...AND DOES NOT HAVE MUCH OF AN IMPACT ON THE SENSIBLE
WEATHER THAT IS EXPECTED WITH THE STORM.

WEST COAST...WILL START THE DAY WITH A CLEAN SLATE AS THE REMAINING
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES IN ZONES 207 AND 209 HAVE BEEN CANCELLED
AS THE SNOW AND WIND FROM THE FIRST LOW WILL RAPIDLY DIMINISH THIS
MORNING. PLAN TO ISSUE BLIZZARD WATCHES FOR ZONES 207-209-210-211-
212-213-214 AND A WINTER STORM WATCHE FOR ZONE 215 THAT BEGIN AT
VARIOUS TIMES EITHER THIS EVENING OR AFTER MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AND
RUN INTO THE DAY ON THURSDAY. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS SHOULD DEVELOP
FIRST ON SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND AND ALONG THE Y-K DELTA COAST AND
THEN SPREAD TO THE NORTHEAST LATER TONIGHT. WIND GUSTS TO 60+ MPH
ARE EXPECTED AT SAVOONGA AND WALES AND ALONG THE Y-K DELTA COAST
WHERE SEVERE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE.

NORTH SLOPE...THERE WILL BE SOME AREAS OF SNOW OR SNOW SHOWERS...
MAINLY ALONG THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN ARCTIC COAST OUT AHEAD OF
THE SHORTWAVE TROUGH. THE SNOW DOES NOT LOOK TO MAKE IT MUCH
FURTHER EAST THAN BARROW AS THE UPPER TROUGH WEAKENS NEAR BARROW
TONIGHT. SNOW AMOUNTS ARE NOT EXPECTED TO BE MORE THAN AN INCH OR
TWO. AS THE SECOND LOW MOVES UP TO THE CHUKOTSK PENINSULA STRONG
S'LY FLOW IS EXPECTED TO DOWN-SLOPE OFF THE BROOKS RANGE AND SHOULD
KEEP MOST OF THE COAST DRY...AT LEAST UNTIL THE LOW LIFTS NORTH OF
THE AREA FRIDAY. POTENTIAL FOR SOME HEAVIER SNOW ON THE SOUTH
FACING SLOPES OF THE WESTERN BROOKS RANGE THU AFTERNOON INTO THUR
NIGHT.

INTERIOR...THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHUKOTSK
PENINSULA LOW WIMPS OUT TODAY AS IT OUTRUNS IT'S SUPPORT ALOFT ACROSS
THE WESTERN INTERIOR.  THERE MAYBE ENOUGH MOISTURE FOR A FEW SNOW
SHOWERS IN PARTS OF THE WESTERN INTERIOR...BUT NOTHING MORE.  SHOULD
SEE AN INCREASE IN HIGH A FEW MID LEVEL CLOUDS IN THE FAIRBANKS
AREA...BUT NO SNOW.  A MUCH STRONGER FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE
SECOND LOW MOVES INTO THE WESTERN INTERIOR THURSDAY WITH SNOW
DEVELOPING FROM THE SOUTHWEST DURING THE DAY.  THE SNOW WILL LIKELY
MOVE INTO THE FAIRBANKS AREA BY THURSDAY EVENING AND WITH THE STRONG
SW FLOW AND SHORTWAVE ENERGY TO MOVE ACROSS THE AREA THURSDAY NIGHT
INTO FRIDAY THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE OF PICKING UP A FEW INCHES OF
SNOW...AND POSSIBLE MORE ON THE HILLS WHERE THERE WILL BE SOME
OROGRAPHIC ENHANCEMENT. THE SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD INTO
EASTERN INTERIOR THURS NIGHT.

MEDIUM RANGE...THE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN CONTINUES WITH A THIRD LOW
EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE FORECAST AREA OVER THE WEEKEND.  THE MODELS
ARE IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT THAT THE NEXT LOW FOLLOWS A SIMILAR
TRACK TO LOW # 2. THE LOW LOOKS TO BE A LITTLE WEAKER THAN IT'S
PREDECESSOR AND MAY FOLLOW A TRACK A BIT FURTHER TO THE NORTHWEST.
AFTER ABOUT 96 HOURS THE MODELS AND ENSEMBLES DIVERGE RAPIDLY AND
FORECAST CONFIDENCE RAPIDLY DROPS. AS WOULD BE EXPECTED IN A VERY
PROGRESSIVE PATTERN THE NCEP RMOPS ARE VERY LOW.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
BLIZZARD WATCH FOR AKZ207-AKZ209-AKZ210-AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ213-
AKZ214.

WINTER STORM WATCH FOR AKZ215.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225.

STORM WARNING FOR PKZ210.

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

CB FEB 11

Event by event

5 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: February 16, 7:36 PM AKST to February 17, 11:30 PM AKST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

Blizzard, Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley

When: February 17, 12:53 AM AKST to 1:00 PM AKST
Where: Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper

Blizzard, Chukchi Sea Coast

When: February 17, 1:00 AM AKST to 8:00 PM AKST
Where: Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

Blizzard, Lower Kobuk & Noatak Valleys

When: February 17, 5:56 AM AKST to 1:36 PM AKST
Where: Lower Kobuk & Noatak Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

Blizzard, Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys

When: February 17, 8:22 AM AKST to 6:13 PM AKST
Where: Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys forecast zone
Reported by: AWSS

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

Every storm in Alaska in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 274606, 274616, 274597, 274594, 274834.