Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait
- When
- January 9, 10:27 AM AKST to 3:14 PM AKST
- Where
- St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWSS
Blizzard in Alaska, January 9, 2013
A strong 980 mb low in the southern Bering Sea brought blizzard conditions to Wales on the 9th, as indicated by the AWOS.
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 980 mb low in the southern Bering Sea brought blizzard conditions to Wales on the 9th, as indicated by the 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 Jan 9, 6:17 AM AKST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 9, 6:17 AM AKST, 4 hours 10 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 617 AM AKST WED JAN 9 2013 .SYNOPSIS... ALOFT... A DEEP LONG WAVE TROUGH OVER THE NW PACIFIC WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEKEND WHILE A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER MAINLAND ALASKA WILL BUILD IN PLACE FROM THU THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL FEED A SERIES OF STRONG LOWS MOVING NORTH ALONG THE WEST COAST OF ALASKA ABOUT 24 HOURS APART. THIS WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW TO THE WEST COAST AND WESTERN INTERIOR THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THERE WILL BE PERIODS OF NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS WITH EACH SYSTEM ALONG THE COAST. THIS WILL ALSO BRING MUCH WARMER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES TO THE INTERIOR FRI THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO NEXT WEEK. SURFACE... A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE OVER THE SOUTHERN BEAUFORT SEA WILL MOVE EAST WED PM. WEST WINDS IN THE EASTERN ARCTIC COAST WILL DIMINISH TONIGHT AS THE TROUGH MOVES EAST. A RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE FROM THE NORTHERN CHUKCHI SEA TO THE INTERIOR OF ALASKA WILL MOVE TO THE EASTERN INTERIOR OF ALASKA TO THE BEAUFORT SEA TODAY AND TO THE YUKON TERRITORY TONIGHT. THIS WILL CAUSE EAST WINDS TO DEVELOP OVER MOST OF THE ARCTIC COAST AS WELL AS THE TANANA AND YUKON VALLEYS TONIGHT AND THU. A STRONG LOW IN THE SOUTHEAST BERING SEA WILL MOVE TO 100 NM WEST OF CAPE ROMANZOF BY 3PM WED AND TO NEAR ST LAWRENCE ISLAND AS A 997 MB LOW BY 3AM THU AND TO THE SOUTHERN CHUKCHI SEA AS A 1003 MB LOW BY 3PM THU. AN OCCLUDED FRONT STRETCHING FROM THE LOW SOUTH WILL MOVE TO GAMBELL TO THE YUKON DELTA BY 3PM WED...TO THE BERING STRAIT TO ANVIK BY 3AM THU...AND TO NOATAK TO FAIRBANKS BY 3PM THU. EXPECT 4-7 INCHES OF SNOW ALONG THE WEST COAST WESTERN INTERIOR WITH THE FRONT. SNOW WILL TAPER OFF TO SEVERAL INCHES IN THE CENTRAL INTERIOR WITH LESSER AMOUNTS IN THE EASTERN INTERIOR. WILL SEE A WEAK CHINOOK WINDS ACROSS THE ALASKA RANGE TONIGHT AHEAD OF THE FRONT. WILL SEE SE WINDS 20-30 KT JUST AHEAD OF THE FRONT ALONG THE WEST COAST WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THROUGH TONIGHT OVER ZONES 213 AND 214. A SECOND STRONG LOW WILL MOVE NORTH INTO THE SOUTHEAST BERING SEA THU PM AND TO NEAR NOME AS A 997 MB LOW BY 3PM FRI. THIS WILL BRING ANOTHER 4 INCHES OF SNOW TO THE WEST COAST THU NIGHT/FRI AND MORE BLOWING SNOW. A THIRD AND MUCH STRONGER LOW WILL MOVE INTO THE SOUTHERN BERING SAT AND TO THE NORTHERN BERING SUN. THIS LOOKS LIKE IT WILL BRING HEAVY SNOW AND POSSIBLE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS TO THE WEST COAST SAT PM/SUN AND HEAVY SNOW TO THE WESTERN INTERIOR SUN. TEMPERATURES COULD BE ABOVE FREEZING WITH FREEZING RAIN POSSIBLE. THIS THIRD STORM WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS INITIALIZE WELL AND SHOW SIMILAR SOLLUTIONS THROUGH 3PM THU. AFTER THAT POINT THE GFS TAKES LOW 2 NW FASTER THAN THE NAM. FAVOR THE FASTER GFS SOLUTION. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ213-AKZ214-AKZ215. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230. && JB JAN 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 Pennsylvania, January 9, 2013
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Montana, January 9 to 11, 2013
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Gulf of Mexico, January 9, 2013
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in Gulf of Mexico, January 9, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Texas, January 9, 2013
- Flash Flooding in Louisiana, January 9, 2013
- Flash Flooding in Texas, January 9, 2013
- Flash Flood in Texas, January 9, 2013
- High Wind in Michigan, January 9, 2013
- High Wind in South Dakota, January 9 to 10, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, January 9 to 11, 2013
- Strong Wind in Nevada, January 9 to 10, 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: 431380.