Blizzard in Alaska, January 1 to 4, 2012

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, January 1 to 4, 2012
Start: 2012-01-01T06:00
End: 2012-01-04T05:00
Location: Alaska

January 1 to 4, 2012 · NWS AFC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong low in the northern Gulf of Alaska brought snow and strong wind to Thompson Pass resulting in blizzard conditions. The peak wind in the pass was 108 mph.

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 AFC wrote it up.

A strong low in the northern Gulf of Alaska brought snow and strong wind to Thompson Pass resulting in blizzard conditions. The peak wind in the pass was 108 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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 1, 5:00 AM AKST, 1 hour earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 1, 5:00 AM AKST, 1 hour before

SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
500 AM AKST SUN JAN 1 2012

.MODEL DISCUSSION...

MODELS IN REASONABLY GOOD AGREEMENT. GFS PRESENTS STRONGEST SOLUTION
BUT PREFERRED ECS BETTER DEFINITION OF RESIDUAL LOW THAT DEVELOPS
OVER PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND AT 24 HOURS. MOS GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO BE
UNUSEFUL...NOT PICKING UP ON LOW LEVEL STRATUS AND LIGHT SNOW OVER
EASTERN DOMAIN THIS MORNING NOR COLD AIR ADVECTION SHOWERS OUT WEST.

.ANALYSIS AND SHORT TERM FORECAST...

A 981 MB LOW MOVES OUT OF THE NORTH PACIFIC TODAY AND INTO THE
NORTHERN GULF STRENGTHENING TO 976 MB IN THE PROCESS. THE LOW WILL
THEN MOVE INLAND AND RAPIDLY DISSIPATE BY MON MORNING...BUT A SHALLOW
RESIDUAL SURFACE LOW WILL LINGER IN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND THROUGH
TUESDAY MORNING. SNOW WILL INCREASE TODAY OVER PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND
AND THE EASTERN COPPER RIVER BASIN TODAY BUT TAPER OFF TO SCATTERED
SNOW SHOWERS BY LATE EVENING. THE REMAINDER OF SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA
WILL EXPERIENCE ONLY A FEW HIGH CLOUDS.

OUT WEST...A 997 MB LOW IN THE EASTERN BERING SEA WILL MOVE INLAND
NEAR DILLINGHAM THIS EVENING AND DISSIPATE NEAR ILIAMNA BY LATE
SUNDAY NIGHT. ASSOCIATED SNOW SHOWERS WILL EFFECT MAINLY THE
KUSKOKWIM DELTA...COASTAL PORTIONS OF THE BRISTOL BAY REGION...AND
THE ALASKA PENINSULA.

AIRMASS OVER SOUTHERN ALASKA WILL REMAIN COLD WITH THE MAJORITY OF
THE AREA REMAINING UNDER WEAK COLD ADVECTION DESPITE APPROACHING LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEMS. VERY COLD HIGH PRESSURE OVER NORTHERN AND INTERIOR
ALASKA IS ACTING TO PREVENT WARM NORTH PACIFIC SYSTEMS FROM ADVANCING
VERY FAR INLAND.

.UPPER LEVELS AND LONG TERM FORECAST...
A BROAD LONG WAVE TROUGH WILL PERSIST OVER NORTHWESTERN ALASKA AND
THE BERING SEA THEN GRADUALLY. A WEAK WEAK UPPER LEVEL RIDGING
BUILDING OUT OF SOUTHEAST ALASKA AND INTO SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA GAINS
MOMENTUM MIDWEEK. PATTERN SHIFT SHOULD ALLOW NORTH PACIFIC STORMS TO
BE STEERED TOWARDS SOUTHWEST ALASKA...BRINGING WARMER AND SLIGHTLY
SNOWIER CONDITIONS TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEEK.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...GALE 120 121 129 130 132 351 352
         HEAVY SPRAY 121 129 130 138 140 141 160 165 179 185
                     411 412 414
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

ASB JAN 12

Event by event

2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Nern P.W. Snd

When: January 1, 6:00 AM AKST to January 2, 12:30 AM AKST
Where: Nern P.W. Snd forecast zone
Reported by: Department of Highways

Blizzard, Pribilof Islands

When: January 3, 11:00 AM AKST to January 4, 5:00 AM AKST
Where: Pribilof Islands 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

Every storm in Alaska in 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, January 2012

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: 353239, 353240.