Blizzard, Northern Arctic Coast
- When
- February 18, 9:38 AM AKST to 4:53 PM AKST
- Where
- Northern Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Blizzard in Alaska, February 18, 2011
A 970 mb low that was in the Gulf of Anadyr at 0900AKST on the 17th moved north into the southern Chukchi Sea and weakened to 976 mb about 300 miles northwest of Barrow by 0900AKST on the 18th. The low was still quite strong and brought a period of blizzard conditions along parts of the western and northern arctic coast.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 that was in the Gulf of Anadyr at 0900AKST on the 17th moved north into the southern Chukchi Sea and weakened to 976 mb about 300 miles northwest of Barrow by 0900AKST on the 18th. The low was still quite strong and brought a period of blizzard conditions along parts of the western and northern arctic coast.
Zone 201: Blizzard condtions were observed at Atqasuk from approximately 1016AKST until 1532AKST on the 18th. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 40 kt (46 mph) at the Atqasuk AWSS.
Zone 202: Blizzard conditions were observed at Barrow from approximately 0938AKST through 1653AKST on the 18th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 38 kt (44 mph) at the Barrow ASOS.
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 18, 3:04 AM AKST, 6 hours 34 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 18, 3:04 AM AKST, 6 hours 34 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 304 AM AKST FRI FEB 18 2011 .DISCUSSION... .DISCUSSION... 976 MB LOW ABOUT 100 MILES EAST OF WRANGEL ISLAND AT 06Z THU IS PROGGED BY GFS/NAM TO MOVE TO AROUND 300 NM NORTH NORTHWEST OF BARROW BY 12Z SAT FILLING TO 985-988 MB. GEM/EUROPEAN MODELS ARE REASONABLY SIMILAR ON POSITION BUT A FEW MB DEEPER ON CENTRAL PRESSURE AT 12Z SAT. ASSOCIATED UPPER LOW NEAR WRANGEL ISLAND IS VERTICALLY STACKED WITH THE SURFACE LOW. NEXT SHORT WAVE ALOFT NOW WEST OF THE GULF OF ANADYR IS PROGGED BY ALL MODELS TO MOVE TO THE WEST COAST OF AK BY 12Z SAT...THEN TO E OF THE ALCAN BORDER BY 12Z SUN. THIS FEATURE WILL BRING ANOTHER PERIOD OF SNOW TO MOST OF NORTHERN ALASKA FROM THE BROOKS RANGE SOUTHWARD AS IT TRANSITS EASTWARD...BUT STRONG WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED. A SHORT WAVE RIDGE WILL FOLLOW BUT BE REPLACED BY A FLAT WESTERLY FLOW OVER THE STATE BY 00Z MON. CURRENT MODEL RUNS AGREE FAIRLY WELL ON THE NEXT INCOMING STORM... SURFACE LOW AROUND 976 MB JUST WEST OF THE GULF OF ANADYR BY 12Z SUN. THIS IS LIKELY TO BE ANOTHER BLIZZARD EVENT...SNOW AND STRONG SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST WINDS BEGINNING OVER ST LAWRENCE ISLAND SAT EVENING...SPREADING TO WEST COAST AREAS LATER SAT NIGHT. WATCHES FOR WEATHER ASSOCIATED WITH SYSTEM WILL LIKELY BE ISSUED THIS AFTERNOON. IN THE SHORT TERM...BLIZZARD CONDITIONS HAVE ENDED OVER ALL WEST COAST AREAS. SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE OVER ZONES 207-208-209 BRISK SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS DEVELOPING TODAY IN ZONES 201-202-203-205 AND IN ZONE 206 PASSES AS THE SURFACE LOW LIFTS NORTHEASTWARD INTO THE ARCTIC. BLOWING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITY IN THESE AREAS. EXCEPT FOR ZONE 226 AND PARTS OF ZONE 223...SNOW AMOUNTS TODAY ARE EXPECTED TO BE SUB-ADVISORY. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES FOR OTHER INTERIOR ZONES WILL BE CANCELED. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ223-AKZ226. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230- PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. && RF FEB 11
Event by event
2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast
- When
- February 18, 10:16 AM AKST to 3:32 PM AKST
- Where
- Western Arctic Coast 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
- High Wind in New York, February 18 to 19, 2011
- High Wind and Strong Wind in New Jersey, February 18 to 19, 2011
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, February 18 to 20, 2011
- High Wind in Pennsylvania, February 18 to 19, 2011
- Strong Wind in Vermont, February 18 to 19, 2011
- High Wind in New Jersey, February 18 to 19, 2011
- Strong Wind in New York, February 18 to 19, 2011
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Delaware, February 18 to 20, 2011
- Strong Wind in Maryland, February 18 to 19, 2011
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, February 18, 2011
- Blizzard and High Wind in Michigan, February 18 to 28, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Colorado, February 18 to 21, 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: 274628, 274627.