Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait
- When
- January 19, 10:00 PM AKST to January 20, 6:00 AM AKST
- Where
- St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Blizzard conditions reported at Gambell AWOS.
Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 19 to 20, 2013
A strong 972 mb low pressure system entered the Southern Bering Strait early in the morning on January 19th. The strong pressure gradient and snowfall produced blizzard conditions at Gambell on Saint Lawrence Island in zone 213, and at Point Hope on the Chukchi Sea coast, the wind gusted as high as 58 kt (67 mph).
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 972 mb low pressure system entered the Southern Bering Strait early in the morning on January 19th. The strong pressure gradient and snowfall produced blizzard conditions at Gambell on Saint Lawrence Island in zone 213, and at Point Hope on the Chukchi Sea coast, the wind gusted as high as 58 kt (67 mph).
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 19, 2:03 PM AKST, 7 hours 57 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 19, 2:03 PM AKST, 7 hours 57 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 203 PM AKST SAT JAN 19 2013 .DISCUSSION... THE 978 MB LOW SOUTH OF COLD BAY WILL MOVE NORTHWEST...PASSING SOUTH OF SAINT PAUL. THE WEATHER FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW IS PRESENTLY OVER BRISTOL BAY. IT WILL MOVE NORTH AND WEST TO LIE FROM SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND EASTWARD OVER NORTON SOUND THEN SOUTHEAST TO NEAR KODIAK ISLAND AT 9AM SUN...AND FROM KOTZEBUE TO FAIRBANKS AND SOUTHEAST AT 9PM SUN. THE 974 MB LOW SOUTH OF ADAK WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AS IT MOVES EAST INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA. STRONG HIGH PRESSURE WILL PERSIST OVER THE NORTHERN CHUKCHI SEA. THE RIDGE THAT LIES SOUTHEASTWARD FROM THIS HIGH TO NEAR KAKTOVIK WILL ROTATE NORTHWARD TO LIE ENTIRELY OFF THE ARCTIC COAST BY MIDNIGHT SAT NIGHT. RECENT ECMF SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN COLDER ON THE WHOLE FOR NORTHERN ALASKA THAN THE GFS OR (CANADIAN) GEM MODELS...WITH CIRCULATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW ALOFT OVER THE CANADIAN ARCHIPELAGO PUSHING SOUTH OF THE BROOKS RANGE. CONSECUTIVE ECMF MODEL RUNS HAVE TENDED LET THE TIMING SLIP FARTHER OUT THOUGH. ON THE OTHER HAND...THE GFS DOES HAVE THE COLDER AIR MAKING IT INTO THE INTERIOR AS WELL...JUST NOT UNTIL LATE IN THE WEEK. OUR MID-RANGE SOLUTION IS SLOWER TOO...WITH INTERIOR TEMPERATURES REMAINING ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE WEEK. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ203-AKZ205 WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ219-AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ223. BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ213. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ212-AKZ214-AKZ215. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ225. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ230. && DJH JAN 13
Event by event
1 blizzard, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Chukchi Sea Coast
- When
- January 20, 6:16 AM AKST to 12:56 PM AKST
- Where
- Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
- Measured
- 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- AWOS
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.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- High Wind in Michigan, January 19 to 20, 2013
- Marine Strong Wind in South Atlantic Coastal Waters, January 19, 2013
- Dense Fog in California, January 19 to 22, 2013
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, January 19 to 20, 2013
- High Wind in Wisconsin, January 19, 2013
- Extreme Cold and Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 19 to 23, 2013
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 19, 2013
- High Wind in North Dakota, January 19, 2013
- Blizzard in Minnesota, January 19, 2013
- High Wind in North Dakota, January 19, 2013
- Winter Storm in Michigan, January 19 to 20, 2013
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 19, 2013
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 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: 430998, 431004.