Winter Storm, Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng
- When
- May 16, 3:21 PM AKST to May 18, 6:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng forecast zone
- Reported by
- Public
Over one foot of snow was reported at the Black Rapids lodge by friday evening.
Winter Storm in Alaska, May 16 to 18, 2013
Low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska and an associated warm front produced copious amounts of moisture for the Alaska Range from May 17-18th. Heavy snow developed|from the Richardson Highway westward on the afternoon of the 17th and spread east during that night.
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.
Low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska and an associated warm front produced copious amounts of moisture for the Alaska Range from May 17-18th. Heavy snow developed|from the Richardson Highway westward on the afternoon of the 17th and spread east during that night. Just over one foot of snow was reported at the Black Rapids Lodge on the Richardson Highway.
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 May 16, 2:31 AM AKST, 12 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 16, 2:31 AM AKST, 12 hours 50 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 331 AM AKDT THU MAY 16 2013 .DISCUSSION... AN EXPANSIVE UPPER LOW CENTER WITH A VERY COLD AIR MASS EXTENDS FROM THE NORTHERN BERING SEA NORTHWARD INTO THE ARCTIC OCEAN. TWO DISTINCT LOW CENTERS ARE LOCATED ABOUT 150 MILES NORTHEAST OF WRANGEL ISLAND AND OVER THE EASTERN CHUKOTSK PENINSULA. THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT...THE TROUGH WILL GRADUALLY BECOME REORIENTED SOUTHEAST TO NORTHWEST...BY SATURDAY THE TROUGH WILL EXTEND FROM PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND TO THE NORTHWEST ALASKA COAST AND NORTHWESTWARD INTO THE ARCTIC OCEAN. OUT AHEAD OF THE TROUGH... SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE EASTERN INTERIOR WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT...THEN WEAKEN SATURDAY AS THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE TROUGH PUSHES EASTWARD. AT THE SURFACE...A 991 MB LOW CENTERED OVER OUTER KOTZEBUE SOUND WILL MOVE TO NEAR CAPE LISBURNE BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TO 250 MILES NORTH OF CAPE LISBURNE BY LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON...FILLING TO AROUND 995 MB. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE NORTHERN ALASKA THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON...BRINGING A SHARPLY COLDER AIR MASS. 850 MB TEMPERATURES IN THE CORE OF THE TROUGH WILL BE AS COLD AS -18 TO -20 DEGREES CELSIUS TODAY...AND AS COLD AS -14 TO -16 DEGREES CELSIUS SATURDAY. AT FAIRBANKS...AN 850 MB TEMPERATURE OF -14 DEGREES CELSIUS WOULD BE THE COLDEST EVER OBSERVED THIS LATE IN THE SEASON. SATURDAY WILL BE THE COLDEST DAY...WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES IN THE INTERIOR MOSTLY IN THE 30S. SNOW OR MIXED RAIN AND SNOW WILL SPREAD EASTWARD ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA AS THE FRONT AND UPPER TROUGH MOVE EASTWARD. PERIODS OF RAIN AND SNOW OVER MUCH OF THE WEST COAST TODAY... WITH SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE WESTERN INTERIOR. SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS...OR PERIODS OF RAIN AND SNOW...SPREADING EASTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR TONIGHT AND FRIDAY. A BUILDING UPPER RIDGE WILL MOVE EASTWARD TO THE ALASKA COAST BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND TO THE EASTERN INTERIOR BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THIS WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO REBOUND TO NEAR SEASONAL NORMALS. THE ECMWF ENSEMBLE MEAN SUGGESTS THE RIDGE MAY BREAK DOWN INTO A SOUTHWEST FLOW NEXT WEDNESDAY...WHILE THE GFS ENSEMBLE MEAN HOLDS THE RIDGING OVER THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR. && .FIRE WEATHER... BRISK SOUTHERLY GAP WINDS NEAR ALASKA RANGE PASSES WILL DIMINISH LATE TONIGHT. NO FIRE WEATHER ISSUES AS FUEL CONDITIONS REMAIN GREEN. && .HYDROLOGY... FLOOD ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE TANANA RIVER NEAR SALCHA. AN ICE JAM FORMED ON THE TANANA RIVER DOWNSTREAM FROM THE BOONDOX BAR IN SALCHA WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD ADVISORY FOR AKZ222-AKZ223. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ200. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ220. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ225. && RF MAY 13
Event by event
1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Winter Storm
- A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornadoes and Hail in Louisiana, May 16, 2013
- Tornadoes in Texas, May 16, 2013
- Flash Flood and Heavy Rain in Iowa, May 16, 2013
- Flash Flooding in Arkansas, May 16 to 17, 2013
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Arkansas, May 16 to 17, 2013
- High Surf in Hawaii, May 16 to 22, 2013
- Hail in Colorado, May 16, 2013
- Flood and Hail in Ohio, May 16, 2013
- Flash Flood and Hail in Iowa, May 16, 2013
- Hail in Maine, May 16, 2013
- Hail in Nebraska, May 16, 2013
- Flash Flood and Hail in Kansas, May 16, 2013
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 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: 449360.