Name: Heavy Snow and High Surf in Alaska, September 2 to 5, 2014
Start: 2014-09-02T23:00
End: 2014-09-05T12:00
Location: Alaska

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $150,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 998 mb low pressure center moved from the high Arctic south toward Barrow on the 3rd then east toward Banks Island on the 4th. The low brought gusty west to northwest winds along the Arctic coast from the 3rd through the morning of the 5th.

Zone 202 - West winds gusted to 38 kts (44 mph). At Barrow, significant erosion to Stevenson Street which had to be closed from the end of the former Naval Arctic Research Laboratory to Niksirak. Damage amount is a rough estimate.

Zone 203 - Minor beach erosion was reported during the morning of the 3rd by the Dockmaster at Prudhoe Bay.

Zone 204 - At Kaktovik, winds at the Barter Island AWOS gusted as high as 46 kts (53 mph). The Barter Island runway sustained some flooding...along the lagoon side as well as the west end of the runway. There has been some erosion of the surface of the runway. Damage amount is a rough estimate.

Zone 206 - Heavy snow combined with strong winds created blizzard condition across portions of the north slopes of the Eastern Brooks Range at times from the early morning of the 3rd through the early morning of the 4th. The Imnaviat Creek SNOTEL site reported 6 inches of snow accumulation from 2300AKST on the 2nd to 0800AKST on the 3rd. The strongest winds occurred during this time, likely resulting blizzard conditions. wind gusts reached 34 kt (40 mph). State of Alaska DOT reports on the morning of the 3rd indicated blizzard conditions along the Dalton Highway from mileposts 285 to 356.

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 Sep 2, 3:57 PM AKST, 7 hours 3 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 2, 3:57 PM AKST, 7 hours 3 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
457 PM AKDT TUE SEP 2 2014

UPDATED WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORY SECTION

.DISCUSSION...
MODELS CONTINUE TO BE IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON TRACK AND STRENGTH OF
SYNOPTIC SCALE FEATURES THROUGH BOTH THE SHORT TERM AND THE MID
TERM. CONSIDERABLE DIFFERENCES BEGIN TO DEVELOP IN THE LONG TERM
ESPECIALLY EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH PATTERN CHANGE.

CURRENTLY A VERY WINTER LIKE 510 DAM LOW AT 500 HPA REMAINS PARKED
APPROXIMATELY 100 NM WEST NORTHWEST OF BARROW. A POWERFUL
FRONT EXTENDS EAST OF THE LOW PAST DEMARCATION POINT AND THEN
SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE MCKENZIE DELTA AND NORTHERN YUKON AND THEN
EXTENDS SOUTHWEST FROM OLD CROW TO FORT YUKON TO FAIRBANKS TO
MCGRATH. THE FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH TO THE EAST INTO CANADA
THIS EVENING.

AHEAD OF THE FRONT HEAVY RAIN PUSHED THROUGH THE INTERIOR WITH
WIDESPREAD REPORTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES AND SEVERAL LOCATIONS
REPORTING OVER 2 INCHES. SNOW LEVELS AHEAD OF THE FRONT ALLOWED
FOR RAIN GENERALLY BELOW 3000 FEET. RAIN RAPIDLY CHANGED TO SNOW
THIS MORNING IN DENALI PARK WITH 5 INCHES REPORTED OVER HIGHER
PASSES. HEAVY SNOW ALSO REPORTED THROUGH ATIGUN PASS IN THE
BROOKS RANGE. SNOW LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO DROP TO UNDER 500 FEET
IN THE NORTHERN INTERIOR AND TO AROUND 1500 FEET NEAR FAIRBANKS
TONIGHT.

FLOOD WARNING ISSUED FOR THE UPPER CHENA RIVER BASIN WITH REPORTS
OF OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN. A FLOOD ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE
LITTLE CHENA RIVER. FLOOD WATCH FOR THE CHATINIKA RIVER WILL BE
DROPPED HOWEVER WATER LEVELS WILL REMAIN HIGH. CONTINUE TO MONITOR
FOR ADDITIONAL HYDRO HEADLINES IN THE TANANA VALLEY BASIN AS
ADDITIONAL RAIN REPORTS FILTER IN.

NEXT POWERFUL SHORTWAVE ROTATING AROUND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW IS
CURRENTLY ROTATING ON SHORE OVER THE NORTHWEST COAST. 30 KT WEST
TO NORTHWEST WINDS CONTINUE TO BRING HIGH SURF AND ELEVATED WATER
LEVELS ALONG THE NORTHWEST COAST. CONTINUE TO MONITOR FOR POSSIBLE
HIGH SURF HEADLINES ALONG THE EASTERN NORTH SLOPE COAST AS WINDS
BUILD TO GALE FORCE LATE TONIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH TOMORROW.

BLIZZARD WARNING ISSUED FOR EASTERN BROOKS RANGE ZONE 206 AS
AMPLE MOISTURE COMBINED STRONG WINDS AND UNSEASONABLE COLD AIR
MASS SWEEP OVER THE EASTERN NORTH SLOPE AS THE NEXT POWERFUL
SHORTWAVE RACES EAST TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. THE TAIL END OF THE
SHORTWAVE DIPS INTO THE NORTHERN INTERIOR AND WILL BE THE FOCAL
POINT FOR SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS AS THE FRONT SWEEPS
THROUGH THE INTERIOR TOMORROW.

A WEAK LOW DEVELOPS IN THE GULF OF ANADYR THURSDAY MORNING AND
MOVES NORTHEAST AND WEAKENS AS IT MOVES INTO THE BERING STRAIT
FRIDAY. THE SURFACE LOW WEAKENS AND IS LOST AS IT MOVES INTO THE
WESTERN INTERIOR HOWEVER THE SHORTWAVE CONTINUES TO THE EAST AND
WILL BE LOCATED ALONG A PASC TO PAFM TO PAOM LINE FRIDAY EVENING
AND ALONG A PARC TO PFYU TO PAMC LINE SATURDAY MORNING. ONLY
ISOLATED TO SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE
WEST COAST AND WESTERN INTERIOR AS THE SHORTWAVE CONTINUES TO MOVE
INTO THE INTERIOR.

LOW CONFIDENCE FORECAST SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AND INTO EARLY NEXT
WEEK AS MODELS DISPLAY DIVERGENT SOLUTIONS AS CURRENT WEATHER
PATTERN BREAKS DOWN

COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...
HIGH SURF ADVISORIES FOR ZONE S 201 AND 202. CONTINUE TO MONITOR
FOR POSSIBLE HEADLINES FOR EASTERN NORTH SLOPE COASTAL ZONES AS
SUSTAINED GALE FORCE WEST WINDS MOVE INTO THE AREA.

&&

.HYDROLOGY...
FLOOD WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE UPPER CHENA AND A FLOOD
ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE LITTLE CHENA RIVER. THE FLOOD
WATCH HAS BEEN CANCELLED FOR THE CHATINIKA RIVER...HOWEVER A
HYDRO STATEMENT COVERING HIGH WATER LEVELS IS IN THE WORKS.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ207.

BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ206.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245.

FLOOD WARNING FOR THE UPPER CHENA RIVER

FLOOD ADVISORY FOR THE LITTLE CHENA

&&

CCC SEP 14

Event by event

3 high surf, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R

When: September 2, 11:00 PM AKST to September 4, 2:00 PM AKST
Where: N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

High Surf, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: September 3, 2:00 AM AKST to 11:00 AM AKST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: Public

High Surf, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast

When: September 3, 6:00 AM AKST to September 5, 12:00 PM AKST
Where: Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue

High Surf, Northern Arctic Coast

When: September 3, 2:00 PM AKST to September 4, 4:00 PM AKST
Where: Northern Arctic Coast forecast zone
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: NWS Employee

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2014 Every state in 2014 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, September 2014

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: 534507, 534508, 532352, 532350.