Blizzard, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- January 17, 7:09 PM AKST to January 18, 9:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Blizzard in Alaska, January 17 to 18, 2011
A 990 mb low near Banks Island combined with a 1035 mb high building into the Brooks range to produce blizzard conditions along the Beaufort Sea Coast. The most severe blizzard conditions were observed along the Eastern Beaufort Sea coast at Barter Island.
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 990 mb low near Banks Island combined with a 1035 mb high building into the Brooks range to produce blizzard conditions along the Beaufort Sea Coast. The most severe blizzard conditions were observed along the Eastern Beaufort Sea coast at Barter Island.
Zone 203: Blizzard conditions were observed at Deadhorse from 2051AKST on the 17th through 0800AKST on the 18th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter or a mile in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 35 kt (40 mph) at the Deadhorse ASOS.
Zone 204: Severe Blizzard conditions were observed at Barter Island from 1909AKST on the 17th through 2100AKST on the 18th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. Sustained wind speeds of 40 to 50 kt (46-58 mph) were common during the event with a peak wind speed of 58 kt (67 mph).
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 Jan 17, 1:54 PM AKST, 5 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 17, 1:54 PM AKST, 5 hours 15 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 154 PM AKST MON JAN 17 2011 .DISCUSSION... DEEP COLD LOW ALOFT CENTERED NR 78N/140W WILL BE OVER ERN BANKS ISLAND BY TUE AFTERNOON. ASSCD COLD FRONT PUSHED ACROSS THE BROOKS RANGE THIS MORNING WITH HIGH PRES BUILDING ON THE NORTH SLOPE. MEANWHILE...932 MB LOW SW OF SHEMYA NOW WEAKENING AND WILL REMAIN JUST SOUTH OF THE ALEUTIANS BUT THE ASSCD OCCLUSION WILL MOVE INTO THE CENTRAL BEING SEA TUE NIGHT. REMNANTS OF THE MEGA HIGH ALOFT STILL EXTEND FROM CENTRAL SIBERIA ESEWD INTO SW ALASKA. MODEL GUIDANCE IN DECENT AGREEMENT ON THE OVERALL PATTERN THROUGH THIS WEEK...THO SOME DETAILS DIFFER. IN THE MID RANGE...HOW FAR NORTH THE SOUTHERN FLOW CAN GET WILL BE AN IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR TEMPS AND ANY SNOW...THOUGH GIVEN MOST OF THE CWA REMAINS IN A SNOW DROUGHT...PERSISTENCE WOULD FAVOR DRIER SOLUTIONS. NORTH SLOPE...COLDEST AIR REMAINS NORTH OF THE BEAUFORT SEA COAST BUT STILL A SUBSTANTIAL COOL DOWN UNDERWAY...AND THE SLOPE LOOKS TO REMAIN IN BROAD CRCLN OF THE COLD LOW ALOFT ALL WEEK. WEST COAST...WINDS INCREASING TUE AS OCCLUSION MOVES THRU THE BERING SEA. SNOW THO LOOKS UNLIKELY TO GET NORTH OF THE YUKON DELTA. TEMPS MODERATING A BIT BUT PRETTY SHARP N-S GRADIENT PERSISTING. INTERIOR...CLOUDS WITH WEAKENING COLD FRONT HAVE BEEN SOMEWHAT BROKEN UP CROSSING THE BROOKS RANGE AND SLIGHTLY MODIFYING VALLEY TEMPS. MEANWHILE...SC ACROSS THE ALASKA RANGE/SRN INTERIOR HAVE BEEN PERSISTING...AND EVEN GROWING ACROSS ZONE 224. THESE ARE HAVING A MORE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON TEMPS. INCREASING W-NW FLOW ALOFT SHOULD HELP CLEAR THESE OUT NEXT 18 HOURS. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ203-AKZ204. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ245. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ235-PKZ240. && RT JAN 11
Event by event
2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- January 17, 8:51 PM AKST to January 18, 8:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
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
- Winter Weather in Wisconsin, January 17, 2011
- Winter Weather in South Dakota, January 17 to 18, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, January 17 to 18, 2011
- Winter Weather in Delaware, January 17 to 18, 2011
- Flooding in Idaho, January 17, 2011
- Winter Weather in Iowa, January 17, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, January 17 to 18, 2011
- Winter Weather in Illinois, January 17, 2011
- Tornado and Damaging Wind in Florida, January 17, 2011
- Winter Weather in Arkansas, January 17, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 17 to 18, 2011
- Winter Weather in Illinois, January 17, 2011
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 268414, 268421.