Blizzard in Alaska, February 19 to 20, 2011

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, February 19 to 20, 2011
Start: 2011-02-19T06:30
End: 2011-02-20T07:30
Location: Alaska

February 19 to 20, 2011 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A strong storm in the northern Gulf of Alaska produced snow and strong wind through Thompson Pass that resulted in a blizzard through the pass Saturday morning through Sunday morning.

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 storm in the northern Gulf of Alaska produced snow and strong wind through Thompson Pass that resulted in a blizzard through the pass Saturday morning through Sunday morning.

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 Feb 19, 5:00 AM AKST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 19, 5:00 AM AKST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
500 AM AKST SAT FEB 19 2011

.ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS...

UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER KODIAK ISLAND AND WESTERN AK THIS MORNING...
WITH A RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN BERING. AT THE SURFACE...LOW PRESSURE
IS OVER THE NORTHERN GULF WITH A WEATHER FRONT MOVING ACROSS THE
WESTERN HALF OF THE GULF. A MASSIVE RIDGE IS OVER MOST OF THE BERING
AND A STRONG WEATHER FRONT IS ENTERING THE EXTREME WESTERN BERING.

.MODEL DISCUSSION...

MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THE GULF
WEATHER FRONT AND LOW WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST TODAY...WITH THE
FRONT MOVING INLAND OVER SOUTHEAST AK LATE TONIGHT. DURING THE SAME
PERIOD THE BERING FRONT BECOMES POSITIVELY TILTED DUE TO A 170 KT
UPPER LEVEL JET...WITH THE LEADING EDGE REACHING WESTERN AK THIS
AFTERNOON AND TRAILING SECTIONS MOVING TO THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS SUN
MORNING BEFORE DISSIPATING. AS THE JET MOVES INTO WESTERN AK IT WILL
INDUCE THE FORMATION OF A SMALL LOW OVER THE NORTHERN BERING SUN
NIGHT. THIS LOW MOVES RAPIDLY TO THE YUKON DELTA BY MIDDAY MON. HIGH
PRESSURE THEN RETURNS TO THE EASTERN BERING...BUT YET ANOTHER FRONT
AFFECTS THE WESTERN BERING THROUGH TUE.

.SHORT TERM FORECAST...

IN THE WEST...SHOWERS WILL MAINLY BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT
THROUGH SUN...AFFECTING THE WESTERN BERING TODAY AND THE REST OF THE
ALEUTIANS THROUGH SUN...THIS FRONT WILL ALSO HAVE STORM FORCE WINDS
AFFECTING THE EXTREME WESTERN PORTIONS TODAY. SUN NIGHT INTO MON WILL
HAVE SNOW AND WIND AFFECTING THE EXTREME NORTHERN BERING AS THE LOW
ASSOCIATED WITH THE JET RACES TO WESTERN AK. DRY CONDITIONS RETURN TO
THE BERING UNTIL THE NEXT FRONT AFFECTS THE WESTERN BERING AND
ALEUTIANS WITH RAIN AND SNOW INTO TUE.

FOR SOUTHWEST AK...CLEARING CONDITIONS TODAY WILL BE FOLLOWED TONIGHT
AND SUN BY SNOW ASSOCIATED WITH THE LEADING PORTION OF THE FRONT
MOVING ACROSS THE BERING. DRYING CONDITIONS FOLLOW THROUGH TUE.

SOUTH AND EAST OF THE AK RANGE...SNOW ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT
MOVING ACROSS THE GULF WILL CONTINUE TO END FROM THE WEST TODAY AND
TONIGHT. AS THE FRONT MOVES EAST OF PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND SIGNIFICANT
WIND WILL AFFECT THE THOMPSON PASS AND VALDEZ AREAS TONIGHT. SNOW
WILL LINGER OVER THE COPPER RIVER BASIN INTO SUN. REMNANTS OF THE
BERING FRONT WILL MOVE OVER THE REGION THROUGH SUN...WITH ISOLATED
SNOW SHOWERS. BY SUN EVENING THE JET WILL MOVE OVERHEAD AND INDUCE A
FEW SNOW SHOWERS OVER MOUNTAINOUS AREAS SUN NIGHT THROUGH TUE.

.LONG TERM FORECAST...

IN THE WEST...RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL SPREAD ACROSS THE ALEUTIANS
BY THE END OF THE WEEK AS A FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE BERING. SOUTHWEST
AK WILL HAVE A FEW SNOW SHOWERS DURING THE SAME PERIOD. SOUTHEAST OF
THE AK RANGE WILL BE DRY AND CLEAR UNDER HIGH PRESSURE.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND 191
MARINE...STORMS 175 176 185
         GALES 120 127 129 130 132 138 150 165 170 172 179 180
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 121 127 129 140
FIRE WEATHER...NONE

DS FEB 11

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Nern P.W. Snd

When: February 19, 6:30 AM AKST to February 20, 7:30 AM AKST
Where: Nern P.W. Snd forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

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: 274532.