Blizzard, Chukchi Sea Coast
- When
- April 6, 6:53 AM AKST to 1:53 PM AKST
- Where
- Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Blizzard in Alaska, April 6, 2013
Under a strong pressure gradient over northwest Alaska, blizzard conditions likely occurred at Kivalina during the morning and early afternoon of the 6th, as indicated by the AWOS where the visibility was one-quarter mile or less and winds gusted to 45 mph during this time.
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.
Under a strong pressure gradient over northwest Alaska, blizzard conditions likely occurred at Kivalina during the morning and early afternoon of the 6th, as indicated by the AWOS where the visibility was one-quarter mile or less and winds gusted to 45 mph during this time.
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 Apr 6, 4:59 AM AKST, 1 hour 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 6, 4:59 AM AKST, 1 hour 54 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 559 AM AKDT SAT APR 6 2013 .DISCUSSION... MODELS SIMILAR IN SOLUTIONS. UPPER LEVEL LOW NEAR RUBY WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTHWARD TO ABOUT MCGRATH EARLY MON MORNING. VERY COLD AIR WILL BE BOTTLED UP OVER THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE STATE. THE COLD AIR WILL RESONATE OVER MOST OF NORTHERN ALASKA THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK. A COUPLE OF UPPER LEVEL TROUGHS WILL ROTATE NORTHWARD FROM THE GULF OF ALASKA TO THE BROOKS RANGE THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF THE WEEK. THIS WILL CONTINUE THE THREAT OF SNOW OVER THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. RELATIVELY STRONG GRADIENT OVER PARTS OF THE NORTHERN INTERIOR IS CAUSING LOW WIND CHILLS AND LOW VISIBILITY IN BLOWING SNOW. ADVISORY LEVEL WINDS OVER PARTS OF THE WEST COAST WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AT LEAST SATURDAY. BY FRIDAY AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL ATTEMPT TO BUILD IN FROM THE SOUTHWEST PORTION OF THE STATE AND WILL SERVE AS THE CATALYST TO PUSH THE COLDER AIR BACK INTO CANADA. && .FIRE WEATHER... && .HYDROLOGY... && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ205. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ206-AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ217-AKZ218. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225. && CF APR 13
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 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2013
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: 446112.