Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait
- When
- February 4, 2:56 PM AKST to February 5, 6:50 PM AKST
- Where
- St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Blizzard in Alaska, February 4 to 5, 2013
Strong high pressure over Russia and low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska produced blizzard conditions on Saint Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait from 1456AKST on the 4th through 1850AKST on the 5th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less at Gambell.
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.
Strong high pressure over Russia and low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska produced blizzard conditions on Saint Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait from 1456AKST on the 4th through 1850AKST on the 5th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less at Gambell. There was a peak wind gust of 41 kt (47 mph) at the Gambell AWOS. Blizzard conditions were also observed at Wales on the afternoon of the 5th. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less. There was a peak wind gust of 39kt (45 mph) at the Wales AWOS.
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 4, 6:53 AM AKST, 8 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 6:53 AM AKST, 8 hours 3 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 653 AM AKST MON FEB 4 2013 .SYNOPSIS... ALOFT... THE LONG WAVE PATTERN CONSISTING OF A TROUGH OVER THE NW PACIFIC AND RIDGE OVER NW CANADA AND EASTERN ALASKA WILL PERSIST INTO THE WEEKEND. A SERIES OF SHORT WAVE TROUGHS WILL MOVE MOVE NORTHEAST ACROSS ALASKA THROUGH THE WEEK. A SHORT WAVE TROUGH IN SOUTHWEST ALASKA WILL MOVE INTO THE SOUTHWEST INTERIOR TUE AND TO THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR WED. THERE WILL BE SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ALONG AND JUST EAST OF THIS TROUGH. A SECOND STRONG SHORT WAVE WILL MOVE NE ACROSS NORTHERN ALASKA THU AND THU NIGHT. 850 MB TEMPERATURES ARE CURRENTLY -20C OR COLDER FROM THE BROOKS RANGE NORTH AND -10C FROM KOTZEBUE TO CIRCLE. THE TEMPERATURES WILL DROP SEVERAL DEGREES TODAY OVER THE NORTHERN INTERIOR...BUT REMAIN FAIRLY WARM IN THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR. SURFACE... HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE ARCTIC COAST OF ALASKA WILL PERSIST THROUGH WED. A WEATHER FRONT ALONG THE BROOKS RANGE WILL DISSIPATE TUE. THERE WILL BE FLURRIES OR VERY LIGHT SNOW ALONG THIS FEATURE. THIS IS ALSO CAUSING NE WINDS AND COLD WIND CHILLS ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST AND VERY STRONG WINDS OVER THE NW ARCTIC. A SECOND WEATHER FRONT IN THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR OF ALASKA WILL DISSIPATE OVER THE CENTRAL INTERIOR TUE. THIS IS CAUSING 1-2 INCHES OF SNOW OVER THE EASTERN INTERIOR TODAY AND ANOTHER INCH OR SO OVER THE NORTHERN INTERIOR TONIGHT. A VERY STRONG LOW WILL DEVELOP IN THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC MON AND MOVE TO THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA TUE NIGHT. THIS WILL BRING SNOW TO SOUTHWEST ALASKA THU AND THEN SPREADING NE. THERE WILL BE POSSIBLE CHINOOK WINDS OVER THE ALASKA RANGE THU. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS INITIALIZE WELL AND SHOW SIMILAR SOLLUTIONS. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ204. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ205-AKZ206-AKZ207-AKZ208- AKZ213-AKZ217. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ230. && JB FEB 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
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, February 4, 2013
- Winter Weather in Indiana, February 4, 2013
- High Wind in Wyoming, February 4 to 5, 2013
- Winter Weather in Ohio, February 4, 2013
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in West Virginia, February 4 to 5, 2013
- Winter Weather in Ohio, February 4, 2013
- Flooding in Illinois, February 4 to 11, 2013
- Winter Weather in Maryland, February 4 to 5, 2013
- Flooding in Indiana, February 4 to 9, 2013
- Heavy Snow in West Virginia, February 4 to 5, 2013
- Lake-Effect Snow in New York, February 4, 2013
- Dense Fog in Utah, February 4, 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: 433481.