Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 28 to 30, 2012

Name: Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 28 to 30, 2012
Start: 2012-01-28T11:45
End: 2012-01-30T04:00
Location: Alaska

January 28 to 30, 2012 · NWS AFG · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Zone 206: Temperatures of 29 to 38 below zero combined with a south wind of 15 to 30 mph to produce wind chills as low as 73 below zero at Anaktuvuk Pass. Wind chills of 60 below zero or lower were observed from approximately 1145AKST on the 28th through 0400AKST on the 30th.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 207: Temperatures of 25 to 27 below zero combined with a south wind of 20 to 30 mph to produce wind chills of 60 to 63 below zero at the Kivalina ASOS from approximately 2300AKST on the 28th through noon AKST on the 29th.

Zone 209: Temperatures of 35 to 44 below zero combined with a southeast wind of 15 to 25 mph to produce wind chills as low as 78 below at Kotzebue. The wind chills were 60 below or lower at the Kotzebue ASOS from approximately 1900AKST on the 29th through 0100AKST on the 30th. Temperatures of 29 to 35 below zero combined with a northeast wind of around 15 mph to produce wind chills as low as 64 below at the Noorvik AWOS. The wind chills were 60 below or lower from approximately 0900AKST through 1700AKST on the 29th.

Zone 217: Temperatures of 35 to 42 below zero combined with a southeast wind of 15 to 20 mph to produce wind chills as low as 73 below at Shungnak. The wind chills were 60 below or lower at the Shungnak AWOS from approximately 0500AKST through 1330AKST on the 29th.

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 28, 6:00 AM AKST, 5 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 28, 6:00 AM AKST, 5 hours 45 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
600 AM AKST SAT JAN 28 2012

.DISCUSSION...

UPPER AIR...MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH HAVING A 480 DM LOW
A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES NORTH OF BARROW SUNDAY AFTERNOON...THEN
MOVING THE LOW A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES WEST BY MONDAY EVENING.
MODELS SHOW A RIDGE DEVELOPING FROM THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS WEST TO
THE PRIBILOFS TODAY...THEN MOVING A LITTLE NORTH TONIGHT. THE
RIDGE WILL KEEP ALEUTIAN SURFACE LOWS ON AN EASTWARD TRACK TO THE
SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA.

SURFACE...LOW PRESSURE MOVING SOUTH OVER THE CHUKCHI SEA WILL BE
BETWEEN WRANGEL ISLAND AND THE NORTHWEST COAST BY SUNDAY
AFTERNOON. MODELS ARE IN DISAGREEMENT WITH THE DETAILS...THOUGH
THE ECMWF AND NAM ARE MORE IN ALIGNMENT WITH HAVING THE LOW CLOSER
TO THE NORTHWEST COAST THAN THE GFS. BY MONDAY AFTERNOON MODELS
WEAKEN THE LOW TO AROUND 996 MB OFF THE NORTHWEST COAST.

NORTH SLOPE...WIND CHILLS WILL INCREASINGLY BECOME AN ISSUE FROM
BARROW WEST AS LOW PRESSURE TRACKS SOUTH OVER THE CHUKCHI SEA
TODAY. AT THE SAME TIME WINDS WILL BE DIMINISHING OVER THE
BEAUFORT SEA COAST ZONES. ONLY FLURRIES ARE EXPECTED.

WEST COAST...THE WEST COAST WILL REMAIN IN A COLD PATTERN THROUGH
AT LEAST MID WEEK. LOW PRESSURE OVER THE ALEUTIANS AND HIGH
PRESSURE JUTTING EAST FROM SIBERIA WILL PRODUCE A PRESSURE
GRADIENT OVER THE SOUTHWEST ZONES WITH RESULTING WIND CHILL
ADVISORIES TODAY AND TONIGHT. SNOW ASSOCIATED WITH THE ALEUTIAN
LOWS WILL LIKELY BE BLOCKED FROM FROM THE WEST COAST BY AN UPPER
LEVEL RIDGE OVER BRISTOL BAY AND THE PRIBILOFS.

INTERIOR...STRONG LOW LEVEL INVERSIONS HAVE DEVELOPED WITH ICE FOG
FORMING IN MANY LOCATIONS. FAIRBANKS IS UNDER A DENSE FOG ADVISORY
THIS MORNING. THERE WILL BE A LITTLE WARMING OVER THE SOUTHERN
INTERIOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS MAY DEVELOP OVER
THE CENTRAL INTERIOR WEDNESDAY AS SURFACE TROUGH DEVELOPS OVER THE
INTERIOR.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ211-AKZ213-AKZ214.

DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR AKZ222.

WIND CHILL WARNING FOR AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ204.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235.
&&

DA JAN 12

Event by event

4 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R

When: January 28, 11:45 AM AKST to January 30, 4:00 AM AKST
Where: N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley

When: January 28, 7:00 PM AKST to January 30, 1:00 AM AKST
Where: Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Chukchi Sea Coast

When: January 28, 11:00 PM AKST to January 29, 12:00 PM AKST
Where: Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys

When: January 29, 5:00 AM AKST to 1:30 PM AKST
Where: Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

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

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: 355923, 355921, 355899, 355922.