Blizzard, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- November 15, 9:49 AM AKST to 4:08 PM AKST
- Where
- Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Blizzard in Alaska, November 15, 2012
A 998 mb low just south of Banks Island at 1500AKST on the 15th coupled with a strong 1036 high pressure center over the Chukchi sea created a strong pressure gradient on over the Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast, providing strong wind and blizzard conditions at Barter Island during the late morning and afternoon hours on the 15th. Zone 204: Blizzard conditions were observed at Barter Island from…
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.
A 998 mb low just south of Banks Island at 1500AKST on the 15th coupled with a strong 1036 high pressure center over the Chukchi sea created a strong pressure gradient on over the Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast, providing strong wind and blizzard conditions at Barter Island during the late morning and afternoon hours on the 15th.
Zone 204: Blizzard conditions were observed at Barter Island from approximately 1000AKST through 1600AKST on the 15th. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 50 kt (58 mph) at the Barter Island AWSS.
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 Nov 15, 6:01 AM AKST, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Nov 15, 6:01 AM AKST, 3 hours 48 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 601 AM AKST THU NOV 15 2012 .DISCUSSION... A STRONG UPPER LEVEL BLOCKING RIDGE WILL CONTINUE BUILD OVER THE BERING AND CHUKCHI SEAS THE NEXT 24 HRS AS A COLD TROUGH ALOFT DIGS SOUTH ALONG THE ALCAN BORDER AND INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA. MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT WITH SOME VARIATION OF THIS PATTERN PERSISTING INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK...AT WHICH POINT SOME DIVERGENCE IN SOLUTIONS IS APPARENT. IN ANY CASE...ALL MEDIUM RANGE MODELS ALLUDE TO THE NORTH PACIFIC STORM TRACK REMAINING WELL SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA WITH VERY LITTLE IF ANY PRECIPITATION OVER NORTHERN ALASKA IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE. COOLER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL BE THE GENERAL RULE OVER THE EASTERN HALF OF THE STATE AND NEAR NORMAL IN THE WEST CLOSER TO THE INFLUENCE OF THE RIDGE ALOFT AND WARMER AIR. AT THE SURFACE...LOW PRESSURE IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL WOBBLE AROUND BUT PERSIST WELL INTO NEXT WEEK WITH REINFORCING SHOTS OF COLD AIR ALOFT FROM THE ARCTIC TO SUPPORT THIS FEATURE. MOISTURE WRAPPING AROUND THIS LOW AND MOVING INTO THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR WILL DIMINISH IN THE NEXT 24 HRS AS THE LOW DRIFTS SOUTHEAST AWAY FROM THE NORTH GULF COAST. THIS LOW WILL ROTATE NORTHWARD IN A FEW DAYS AND SPREAD SOME ADDITIONAL CLOUDS INTO THE SOUTHEAST INTERIOR BY SUNDAY. FARTHER NORTH...LOW PRESSURE NEAR BANKS ISLAND WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST AND AWAY FROM THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH TONIGHT. AS THIS HAPPENS...THE TIGHT GRADIENT OVER THE EASTERN BEAUFORT SEA WILL SLACKEN AND WINDS WILL DIMINISH. OTHERWISE...SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVER FAR EAST RUSSIA AND THE CHUKCHI SEA WILL MOVE EASTWARD AND BECOME ESTABLISHED OVER NORTHERN ALASKA BY FRIDAY. NORTH SLOPE...STRONG WEST WINDS FROM 30 TO 50 MPH AND HIGHER GUSTS ARE CREATING LOW VISIBILITY IN BLOWING SNOW ALONG THE EASTERN ARCTIC COAST BUT SHOULD DIMINISH LATE THIS AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL STILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO BLOW SOME SNOW AROUND THROUGH TONIGHT BUT THIS WILL BE OVER BY TOMORROW. THE WESTERN ARCTIC WILL HAVE RELATIVELY LIGHT WINDS AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES OVER THE AREA. THIS TREND WILL SPREAD EASTWARD ON FRIDAY. WEST COAST...SOME HIGHER CLOUDS WILL MOVE SOUTH ACROSS THE WEST COAST TODAY AND FRIDAY BUT OTHERWISE SKIES WILL REMAIN MOSTLY CLEAR INTO THE WEEKEND. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY WINDS OVER THE MARINE AREAS WILL DIMINISH TODAY AND TONIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES OVER THE AREA. INTERIOR...CLOUDS AND SNOW OVER THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR WILL RAPIDLY DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST THROUGH TONIGHT...BUT LINGER OVER THE UPPER TANANA VALLEY AND EASTERN ALASKA RANGE INTO FRIDAY. WIDESPREAD COLD TEMPERATURES IN THE 20 TO 35 BELOW RANGE ARE EXPECTED STARTING TONIGHT AS THE CLOUDS CLEAR OUT AND PERSIST INTO THE WEEKEND. SOME CLOUDS MOVING INTO THE EASTERN INTERIOR SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MAY SUBDUE THE LOW TEMPERATURES A BIT. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ204. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ220. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ245. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ240. && NOV 12 EWP
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
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
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, November 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: 414470.