Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Central Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- January 20, 4:46 AM AKST to 12:53 PM AKST
- Where
- Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 20, 2011
Temperatures near 35 below zero combined with a southwest wind of 15 to 20 mph to produce wind chills as low as 67 below zero at Kuparuk from 0446AKST through 1253AKST. Wind chills of 60 to 66 below zero were also observed at Deadhorse and Nuiqsut during the day on the 20th, however, the wind was mainly less than 15 mph.
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 AFG wrote it up.
Temperatures near 35 below zero combined with a southwest wind of 15 to 20 mph to produce wind chills as low as 67 below zero at Kuparuk from 0446AKST through 1253AKST. Wind chills of 60 to 66 below zero were also observed at Deadhorse and Nuiqsut during the day on the 20th, however, the wind was mainly less than 15 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 19, 2:04 PM AKST, 14 hours 42 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 19, 2:04 PM AKST, 14 hours 42 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 204 PM AKST WED JAN 19 2011 .DISCUSSION... THE MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. A RIDGE OVER NORTHERN ALASKA AND A STRONG LOW IN THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA WILL PERSIST THROUGH THU. THE ASSOCIATED ENERGY WITH THIS BERING SEA STORM IS NOT EXPECTED TO PENETRATE THE CWA. A LOW MOVING NORTH INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA FRIDAY WILL BRING SNOW INTO THE SOUTHEASTERN INTERIOR. THIS PRECIPITATION WILL MOVE SLOWLY NORTH FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW IN FAIRBANKS ON SATURDAY. WEST COAST...STRONG WINDS WITH BLOWING SNOW THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT ALONG THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. TEMPERATURES WILL BE TOO WARM FOR WIND CHILL ADVISORIES THERE. THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE WEST COAST WILL BE UNDER CLEAR SKIES WITH LOW TEMPERATURES IN THE 30 TO 45 BELOW RANGE TONIGHT. WINDS WILL BE VERY LIGHT OR CALM. NO SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION EXPECTED THROUGH SATURDAY. NORTH SLOPE...CONTINUED COLD TEMPERATURES AND LIGHT WINDS ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST. AREAS OF FOG TONIGHT BECOMING PATCHY FOG THU AND FRI. NO SIGNIFICANT SNOW EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND. INTERIOR...ARCTIC AIR WILL DOMINATE THE WEATHER OVER THE CENTRAL AND NORTHERN INTERIOR WITH CLEAR SKIES AND VERY COLD TEMPERATURES IN THE VALLEYS. THE UPLANDS WILL SEE LOWS IN THE 40 TO 50 BELOW RANGE FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL NIGHTS. THE SOUTHEASTERN AREA WILL SEE INCREASING CLOUDS WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SOUTH OF TOK TONIGHT. SNOW WILL DEVELOP FRIDAY FROM TOK TO CHICKEN AND SLOWLY MOVE NORTH WITH SNOW AS FAR NORTH AS FAIRBANKS ON SATURDAY. THIS WILL ALSO BRING WARMING TEMPERATURES TO THESE AREAS. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ213. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ220. && RL JAN 11
Event by event
1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
- Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Weather and Cold in Tennessee, January 20 to 21, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Kentucky, January 20, 2011
- Winter Weather in Kentucky, January 20 to 21, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Tennessee, January 20, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Missouri, January 20, 2011
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Ohio, January 20 to 21, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Arkansas, January 20, 2011
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, January 20 to 21, 2011
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Illinois, January 20, 2011
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, January 20, 2011
- Heavy Snow in Kentucky, January 20, 2011
- Winter Weather in Arkansas, January 20, 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: 268595.