Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 25 to 27, 2013

Name: Extreme Cold in Alaska, January 25 to 27, 2013
Start: 2013-01-25T00:00
End: 2013-01-27T12:00
Location: Alaska

January 25 to 27, 2013 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Strong north winds 20 to 30 mph coupled with temperatures 35 to 40 below F produced wind chill to 78 below from Jan 25th to Jan 27th at the Atigun Pass SNOTEL platform.

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 north winds 20 to 30 mph coupled with temperatures 35 to 40 below F produced wind chill to 78 below from Jan 25th to Jan 27th at the Atigun Pass SNOTEL platform.

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 24, 5:01 PM AKST, 6 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 5:01 PM AKST, 6 hours 59 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
501 PM AKST THU JAN 24 2013

.DISCUSSION...
HEAVY SNOW EVENT CONTINUES IN PROGRESS FOR ZONES
222-223-224-225-226.
ZONE 222...SNOW CONTINUING FROM NORTH POLE SOUTH AND EAST
           TONIGHT.
ZONE 223...SNOW CONTINUING THROUGH FRI NIGHT...HEAVIEST
           AMOUNTS TONIGHT AND FRI.
ZONE 224...SNOW CONTINUING THROUGH FRI NIGHT...HEAVIEST
           AMOUNTS TONIGHT AND FRI. ADDITIONAL
           SNOW POSSIBLE SOUTHEAST OF TOK SAT.
ZONE 225...SNOW CONTINUING TONIGHT TAPERING OFF FRI.
ZONE 226...SNOW CONTINUING THROUGH FRI NIGHT...ADDITIONAL
           SNOWFALL POSSIBLE EAST OF THE TOK CUTOFF SAT.

STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL OF 12 INCHES OR MORE IS EXPECTED IN
PARTS OF ZONES 223-224-226...8 INCHES IN ZONE 222 AND UP
TO 10 INCHES IN PARTS OF ZONE 225. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES
FOR ZONES 222-223-224 HAVE BEEN UPGRADED TO WINTER STORM WARNINGS.

MUCH COLDER AIR WILL FOLLOW THE HEAVY SNOW. A COLD UPPER TROUGH
EXTENDING SOUTHWESTWARD FROM NORTHEAST ALASKA SWWD WILL DEEPEN
FURTHER AS IT PROGRESSES SOUTHWARD. VERY COLD AIR ALOFT WILL
COVER ALL OF THE INTERIOR AND ARCTIC ZONES BY FRI AFTERNOON...
850 MB TEMPERATURES PROGGED TO APPROACH -30C. SURFACE TEMPERATURES
WILL BE DEPENDENT ON CLOUD COVER...BUT AREAS WITH CLEAR SKIES
WILL SEE TEMPERATURES OF -40F OR COLDER. VERY COLD TEMPERATURES
ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. A MODERATING TREND
IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN LATE MONDAY AS A HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE
BEGINS TO BUILD NORTHWARD INTO THE SOUTHERN INTERIOR.

WARNINGS FOR WIND CHILL TO -60F CONTINUE THROUGH FRI NIGHT
IN ZONES 203-204. NARROW RIDGE ACROSS THE INTERIOR ARCTIC
SLOPE WILL LIKELY PERSIST INTO SUNDAY...PRODUCING VERY COLD
SOUTHWEST SURFACE WIND FLOW OUT OF THE INTERIOR ARCTIC SLOPE
AND NORTH WINDS 15-25 MPH AND ADVISORY LEVEL WIND CHILL IN
BROOKS RANGE PASSES.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND CHILL ADVISORY FOR AKZ206-AKZ218-AKZ219-AKZ220-AKZ221.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224-AKZ226.

WIND CHILL WARNING FOR AKZ203-AKZ204.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ225.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ245.
&&

RF JAN 13

Event by event

1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R

When: January 25, 12:00 AM AKST to January 27, 12:00 PM AKST
Where: N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

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

Every storm in Alaska in 2013 Every state in 2013 This day in weather history Warnings 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: 431462.