Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- February 22, 4:01 PM AKST to February 23, 10:01 AM AKST
- Where
- Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Extreme Cold in Alaska, February 22 to 23, 2013
A strong 1045 mb high pressure center over the Arctic Ocean produced moderate winds along the North Slope. Temperatures around 25 below zero combined with a northeast wind of around 25 mph to produce wind chills as low as 64 below at the Barter Island AWSS on the afternoon of the 22nd through the morning of the 23rd.
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 strong 1045 mb high pressure center over the Arctic Ocean produced moderate winds along the North Slope. Temperatures around 25 below zero combined with a northeast wind of around 25 mph to produce wind chills as low as 64 below at the Barter Island AWSS on the afternoon of the 22nd through the morning of the 23rd.
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 Feb 22, 2:11 PM AKST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 2:11 PM AKST, 1 hour 50 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 211 PM AKST FRI FEB 22 2013 .DISCUSSION... UPPER LEVEL LOW CURRENTLY OVER KOTZEBUE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE WESTWARD TO BE OVER THE CHUKOTSK PENINSULA SATURDAY MORNING AND DEEPEN AS IT MOVES SOUTHWEST INTO THE GULF OF ANADYR SUNDAY MORNING. A 980 MB LOW NEAR SITKA CONTINUES TO MOVE INLAND TONIGHT AS A 960 MB LOW MOVES INTO THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA TO BE NEAR DUTCH HARBOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON. A 1043 MB HIGH OVER THE HIGH ARCTIC WILL CONTINUE TO PUMP COLD AIR INTO THE NORTH SLOPE. COLD AIR MASS COMBINED WITH INCREASING GRADIENT ACROSS THE NORTH SLOPE IS CREATING BRUTAL WIND CHILL VALUES IN THE 60 TO 70 BELOW RANGE ACROSS THE COASTAL PORTIONS OF THE NORTH SLOPE ESPECIALLY EAST OF BARROW. WINDS WILL INCREASE IN THESE LOCATIONS WITH BLOWING SNOW AND BITTERLY COLD WIND CHILLS CONTINUING THROUGH THE WEEKEND. INTERMITTENT WINDS THROUGH BROOKS RANGE PASSES ARE CONTRIBUTING TO BRUTAL WIND CHILL VALUES AT TIMES. ADVISORY LEVEL WIND CHILL VALUES ARE OCCURRING ON ST LAWRENCE ISLAND AND THROUGH THE BERING STRAIT. AS WINDS PICK UP AHEAD OF APPROACHING LOW IN THE ALEUTIANS ADVISORY LEVEL WIND CHILLS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE SEWARD PENINSULA AND IN ZONE 212. WILL NEED TO WATCH FOR WINDS IN CHANNELED AREAS IN ZONE 211 AND WINDS IN ZONE 209 FOR ADVISORY LEVEL WIND CHILLS. OVERRUNNING SNOW ACROSS THE INTERIOR WILL CONTINUE TO DIMINISH TONIGHT BUT WILL PICK UP AGAIN TOMORROW NIGHT AS THE NEXT WEAK SHORT WAVE MOVES INTO THE AREA. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 1 INCH IS EXPECTED. SHORT RANGE MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO EARLY PORTIONS OF NEXT WEEK. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ202-AKZ208-AKZ210-AKZ212-AKZ213- AKZ217. WIND CHILL WARNING FOR AKZ201-AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ206. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ205-AKZ207. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ225. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240- PKZ245. && CCC FEB 13
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
- Heavy Snow in Washington, February 22 to 23, 2013
- Flash Flooding in Alabama, February 22 to 23, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Louisiana, February 22, 2013
- Winter Weather in Virginia, February 22 to 23, 2013
- Winter Weather in Maryland, February 22 to 23, 2013
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, February 22 to 23, 2013
- High Wind in Montana, February 22 to 25, 2013
- Winter Weather in Michigan, February 22 to 23, 2013
- High Wind in Wyoming, February 22 to 23, 2013
- Winter Weather in Ohio, February 22, 2013
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Idaho, February 22 to 23, 2013
- Winter Weather in Michigan, February 22, 2013
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 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: 433484.