Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, January 1 to 2, 2011

Name: Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, January 1 to 2, 2011
Start: 2011-01-01T00:01
End: 2011-01-02T22:33
Location: Alaska

January 1 to 2, 2011 · NWS AFG · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

A 960 mb low approximately 200 miles southwest of Saint Lawrence Island combined with a 1026 mb high across the northern Beaufort Sea to produce strong winds and snow along with heavy snowfall and areas of blizzard conditions along the west coast of Alaska. Zone 210: Heavy snow was observed at Buckland during the afternoon of the 1st into the early morning hours on the 2nd.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 210: Heavy snow was observed at Buckland during the afternoon of the 1st into the early morning hours on the 2nd. A total of 7 inches of snow was observed at Buckland with the heaviest of the snow falling from 1315AKST on the 1st through 0730AKST on the 2nd.

Zone 211: A short period of blizzard conditions were observed at Nome at the start of the event from 1130AKST through 1500AKST on the 1st. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 39 kt (45 mph) was observed at the Nome ASOS. After the short period of blizzard conditions, snow and blowing snow continued until around 3 am on the 2nd, but the visibilities were at least one half mile. A storm total of 6.5 inches of snow was observed at Nome during this event.

Zone 212: A total of 8 inches of snow was observed at the school at Unalakleet and local law enforcement observed 3 foot snow drifts. Eight inches of snow was also observed at Saint Michael. At Saint Michael, the snow fell very heavily during the evening hours with the majority of the snowfall occurring from 1730AKST until 2200 ASKT on the 1st. The snow at Unalakleet began around midnight and continued through the afternoon hours on the 1st. A peak wind gust of 48 kt (55 mph) was observed at the Unalakleet AWOS and the visibility was reduced to one half mile at times in snow and blowing snow.

Zone 213: Blizzard conditions were observed at Gambell from 1256AKST on the 1st through 0336AKST on the 2nd. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. According to local law enforcement the visibility was near zero at times during the evening hours on the 1st. A peak wind gust of 50 kt (58 mph) was observed at the Gambell AWOS. Blizzard conditions were also observed at the Tin City AWOS along the Bering Strait coast from approximately 1400AKST through 1900AKST on the 1st.

Zone 214: A total of 15 inches of snow was observed at Emmonak. The majority of the snow likely fell from about 0300AKST on the 1st through the early evening hours on the 1st. Additional light snow and freezing rain likely fell through the morning of the 3rd. Northeast winds of 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph produced significant blowing and drifting snow with near blizzard conditions at times during the morning hours on the 1st, especially near the coast. The visibilities improved late on the afternoon of the 1st as the temperatures warmed significantly to near and in some places a little above freezing. It is likely that the snow mixed with or changed to freezing rain in spots along the Yukon Delta coast during the late afternoon hours on the 1st through the early morning hours on the 2nd.

Zone 216: A total of 12 inches of snow was observed at Ruby. The snow began at 0756AKST on the 1st and ended at 2233AKST on the 2nd. The heaviest of the snow fell on the 1st, and it is likely that there was 6 inches of snowfall by late on the evening of the 1st.

Zone 217: Blizzard conditions were observed at Shungnak on the 1st into the 2nd. According to the maintenance department at the school the visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter of a mile in snow and blowing snow. The wind was estimated to be 30 to 40 mph. The visibility was not as low at the Shungnak AWOS, however, there were wind gusts as high as 47 kt (54 mph) which would support the blizzard conditions that were observed at the school.

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 31, 2:49 PM AKST, 9 hours 12 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 2:49 PM AKST, 9 hours 12 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
249 PM AKST FRI DEC 31 2010

.DISCUSSION...
AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN TO START THE NEW YEAR WITH A STRONG
STORM SYSTEM TO IMPACT PARTS OF NORTHERN ALASKA THIS WEEKEND.

ALOFT...A CLOSED RIDGE ACROSS SIBERIA THAT DEVELOPED AT THE END OF
LAST WEEK WILL BE REPLACED BY A DEEP CLOSED LOW THIS WEEKEND WHILE
RIDGING REMAINS THE DOMINATE FEATURE ACROSS WESTERN CANADA. AN
UPPER LOW IN THE CENTRAL BERING SEA WILL GET GET STRETCHED APART
AS A STRONG SHORTWAVE ROUNDS THE BASE OF THE TROUGH THIS WEEKEND
AND DEVELOPS INTO A CLOSED LOW CENTER NEAR THE CHUKOTSK PENINSULA
BY SUNDAY EVENING.

SURFACE...A 996 MB LOW NEAR ANCHORAGE THIS AFTERNOON WILL CONTINUE
TO LIFT INTO THE INTERIOR AND WEAKEN TONIGHT. A 971 MB LOW
150 MILES SOUTH OF ADAK WILL CONTINUE TO DEEPEN AND IS EXPECTED
TO BE A 965 MB LOW NEAR NUNIVAK ISLAND BY 00Z SUNDAY. THE MODELS
ARE IN BETTER AGREEMENT ON THE DEPTH AND LOCATION OF THE LOW BUT
THERE IS STILL ABOUT A 5 TO 10 MILLIBARS SPREAD BETWEEN THE
GFS/ECMWF/NAM/UKMET WITH THE EVENTUAL DEPTH OF THIS LOW. THIS
LOOKS TO BE A FORMIDABLE STORM SYSTEM WITH A LOT OF MOISTURE AND
HAS THE POTENTIAL OF PRODUCING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ALONG MUCH OF
THE WEST COAST.

WEST COAST...THE SURFACE LOW AND SHORTWAVE ALOFT WILL PRODUCE
SOME SNOW THIS EVENING...MAINLY OVER THE SEWARD PENINSULA AND
NORTH WHERE A FEW INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED. THE NEXT AND MUCH
STRONGER LOW WILL SPREAD SNOW NORTH INTO THE SOUTHWEST ZONES BY
SATURDAY MORNING AND NORTH TO NOME BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
WINTER STORM WATCHES HAVE BEEN REPLACED WITH WINTER STORM
WARNINGS IN ZONES 212 214 215 AND 216 STARTING SATURDAY MORNING
IN THE SOUTH AND SPREADING NORTH DURING THE AFTERNOON. STORM
WATCHES ARE OUT FOR LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON UNTIL SUNDAY AFTERNOON
FOR ZONES 207 208 209 210 211 213 AND 217. THERE WILL BE A ENOUGH
WARM AIR THAT GETS INTO THE MIX THAT THE SNOW MAY MIX OR CHANGE TO
RAIN IN SPOTS TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF THE SEWARD PENINSULA. THE
COLD TEMPERATURES OF LATE WOULD MEAN THAT ANY RAIN WILL FREEZE ON
ANY UNTREATED SURFACES. HAVE WORDED THE WINTER STORM WARNINGS
ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST ZONES TO MENTION THAT SOME ICE ACCUMULATION
IS POSSIBLE. THE STORM HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE SNOWFALL
AMOUNTS OF 6 TO 10 INCHES AND ALSO BLIZZARD CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY
ON SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND.

NORTH SLOPE...THE SHORTWAVE RAPIDLY LIFTING ACROSS THE NORTHERN
INTERIOR WILL SPREAD SOME SNOW UP ALONG THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST
THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. THE CLOUDS AND SNOW WILL ALLOW FOR
CONTINUED MODERATION OF THE TEMPERATURES. AS THE GRADIENT TIGHTENS
UP IT LOOKS LIKE ENOUGH WIND AND LOW ENOUGH TEMPERATURES FROM
POINT LAY SOUTH ALONG THE WESTERN ARCTIC COAST FOR SOME LOW WIND
CHILLS FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH TONIGHT. THE WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR
THIS PORTION OF THE WESTERN ARCTIC COAST CONTINUES. THE STRONG
WEST COAST LOW WILL SPREAD SNOW NORTH TO THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN
ARCTIC COAST SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. TEMPS WILL MODERATE
SIGNIFICANTLY WITH THIS SECOND LOW...BUT THERE PROBABLY WILL BE
ENOUGH SNOW AND WIND DOWN THE ROAD THAT WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES
WILL LIKELY BE NEEDED SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY.

INTERIOR...MOST AREAS ACROSS THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN INTERIOR WILL
GET A PERIOD OF SNOW TONIGHT AS THE SURFACE LOW MOVES INTO THE INTERIOR
AND THE STRONG SHORTWAVE ALOFT MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL INTERIOR THIS
EVENING...THEN RAPIDLY LIFTS NORTHEAST TO THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST
TONIGHT. MANY AREAS ACROSS THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN INTERIOR WILL
PICK UP A FEW INCHES OF SNOW THIS EVENING. MOST AREAS TO THE SOUTH AND
EAST OF FAIRBANKS WILL SEE LITTLE SNOW. THERE WILL ALSO BE A
COUPLE OF PERIODS OF STRONGER CHINOOK FLOW IN THE ALASKA RANGE
THIS EVENING WITH A STRONGER CHINOOK EXPECTED SATURDAY NIGHT INTO
SUNDAY AS THE DEEP LOW LIFTS UP ALONG THE WEST COAST. IT LOOKS
VERY LIKELY THAT WIND ADVISORIES AND/OR HIGH WIND WARNINGS WILL BE
NEEDED SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY.

COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ201.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ207-AKZ213.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ212-AKZ214-AKZ215-AKZ216.

WINTER STORM WATCH FOR AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ210-AKZ211-AKZ213-
AKZ217.

HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ210.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ230.
&&

RL DEC 10

Event by event

3 winter storm, 3 blizzard, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Ern Norton Sound Nulato Hills

When: January 1, 12:01 AM AKST to 10:00 PM AKST
Where: Ern Norton Sound Nulato Hills forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Winter Storm, Yukon Delta

When: January 1, 3:00 AM AKST to January 2, 3:00 AM AKST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

Heavy Snow, Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys

When: January 1, 7:56 AM AKST to January 2, 10:33 PM AKST
Where: Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys forecast zone
Reported by: Unknown

Blizzard, Srn Seward Peninsula Coast

When: January 1, 11:30 AM AKST to 3:00 PM AKST
Where: Srn Seward Peninsula Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: January 1, 12:56 PM AKST to January 2, 3:36 AM AKST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

Winter Storm, Nrn & Intr. Seward Peninsula

When: January 1, 1:15 PM AKST to January 2, 7:30 AM AKST
Where: Nrn & Intr. Seward Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: Unknown

Blizzard, Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys

When: January 1, 3:00 PM AKST to January 2, 11:00 AM AKST
Where: Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys forecast zone
Reported by: Public

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
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, January 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: 266679, 266682, 266683, 266678, 266680, 266677, 266684.