Name: Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, April 7 to 8, 2015
Start: 2015-04-07T05:56
End: 2015-04-08T14:16
Location: Alaska

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 979 mb low pressure center near Nunivak Island along with the associated occluded front pushed northeast towards Saint Lawrence Island during the morning hours of the 7th of April 2015. This low produced strong northeast winds along with snow and blowing snow creating blizzard conditions for Saint Lawrence Island during the morning hours and continuing into the evening of the 7th. This low pressure moved inland and produced heavy snow for the Selawik valley most of the day on the 7th and into the afternoon of the 8th.

Zone 209: Heavy snow fell over Selawik from the 7th into the afternoon of the 8th. An estimated 10 inches of snowfall was reported by the Village Public Safety Officer. Farther west only 5 inches of snowfall was reported at Noorvik.

Zone 213: Blizzard conditions were observed at the Gambell AWOS. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 41 kt (47 mph) at the Gambell 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 Apr 7, 3:36 AM AKST, 2 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 7, 3:36 AM AKST, 2 hours 20 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
436 AM AKDT TUE APR 7 2015

.SYNOPSIS...
ALOFT...
THE LONG WAVE PATTERN CONSISTS OF A RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC
AND ALCAN BORDER WITH A TROUGH OVER THE NW PACIFIC AND BERING SEA.
THIS PATTERN WILL PROGRESS SLOWLY WITH THE TROUGH MOVING OVER
MAINLAND ALASKA BY THE END OF THE WEEK. STRONG SOUTH FLOW ALOFT
OVER NORTHERN ALASKA TODAY WILL WEAKEN WED AND MORE SO ON THU.
THIS MEANS VERY WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MID-WEEK
THEN SLOWLY COOL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. STRONG CHINOOK WINDS OVER
THE ALASKA RANGE WILL REACH A PEAK TODAY AND THEN DECREASE TONIGHT
INTO WED.

SURFACE...
HIGH PRESSURE NORTH OF THE ARCTIC COAST WILL WEAKEN SLOWLY THROUGH THU.

A 980 MB LOW NEAR NUNIVAK ISLAND WILL MOVE EAST AND WEAKEN TODAY.
AN OCCLUDED FRONT FROM THIS LOW TO GAMBELL TO THE BERING STRAIT TO
POINT HOPE WILL DISSIPATE TODAY. SNOW WINDS AND BLOWING SNOW ALONG
THIS FRONT WILL DIMINISH TODAY.

A STATIONARY FRONT STRETCHES FROM POINT HOPE TO ANVIK WITH A
FRONTAL WAVE NEAR KODIAK. THE FRONTAL WAVE WILL MOVE TO NEAR
KALTAG AS A 980 MB LOW BY 4PM TUE...TO NEAR SHISHMAREF AS A 982 MB
LOW BY 4AM WED...TO NEAR POINT HOPE AS A 986 MB LOW BY 4PM WED.
WILL SEE 2-4 INCHES OF SNOW TODAY AND ANOTHER 2-4 INCHES TONIGHT ALONG
THIS STATIONARY FRONT. SNOW WILL CHANGE TO RAIN SOUTHEAST OF
BUCKLAND AND HUSLIA THIS AFTERNOON SO THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL BE
NORTH OF BUCKLAND AND HUSLIA. EXPECT STORM TOTALS UP TO 8 INCHES
NORTH OF BUCKLAND AND HUSLIA. DO NOT EXPECT FREEZING RAIN DUE TO
STRONG WINDS AND WELL MIXED AIR NORTH OF THE FRONTAL WAVE.

WILL SEE EAST WINDS 25-35KT TODAY OVER THE INTERIOR AND THE COAST
NORTH OF KOTZEBUE AS THE GRADIENT INCREASES AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL
WAVE. WILL SEE LOW VSBY IN BLOWING SNOW OVER THE ARCTIC SLOPE AND
NW ARCTIC THROUGH TONIGHT AS WELL.

AN ARCTIC COLD FRONT FROM EAGLE TO TANANA TO GOLOVIN TO KING
SALMON WILL MOVE TO EAGLE TO BUCKLAND TO ANVIK BY 4PM TUE...TO
OLD CROW TO BUCKLAND TO ANVIK BY 4AM WED AND TO ARCTIC VILLAGE TO
DENALI BY 4PM WED. WILL SEE SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS
SOUTHEAST OF THIS ARCTIC FRONT.

A LOW IN THE SOUTHWEST BERING SEA WILL MOVE TO NEAR THE KUSKOKWIM
DELTA AS A 978 MB LOW BY 4AM THU. THIS WILL BRING SNOW AND BLOWING
SNOW TO ZONES 213 214 215 LATE WED AND THU.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
MODELS INITIALIZE WELL AND SIMILAR SOLUTIONS THROUGH THU. THE
FRONTAL WAVE NEAR KODIAK WILL MOVE NW TODAY AND TONIGHT AND THERE
WILL BE SOME UNCERTAINTY ON THE EXACT LOCATION AND TRACK. WHAT IS
FAIRLY CERTAIN IS THAT SNOW WILL CHANGE TO RAIN SE OF ANVIK TO
BUCKLAND TO EAGLE TODAY REDUCING THE SNOW AMOUNTS IN THOSE AREAS.
ALSO FAIRLY CERTAIN THAT HEAVIEST SNOW WILL BE NORTH OF BUCKLAND
AND HUSLIA TODAY AND TONIGHT SO ARE ISSUING WINTER STORM WARNINGS
FOR THOSE AREAS NOT ALREADY COVERED SUCH AS ZONES 207 208 AND 209.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ223.

HIGH WIND WARNING FOR AKZ225-AKZ226.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ217.

BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ204-AKZ213.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ203-AKZ210-AKZ215-AKZ216.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ240-PKZ245.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ235.
&&

JB APR 15

Event by event

1 heavy snow, 1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley

When: April 7, 5:56 AM AKST to April 8, 2:16 PM AKST
Where: Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley forecast zone
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: April 7, 8:16 AM AKST to 9:36 PM AKST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

Peak gust of 41 kt (47 mph).

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
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

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, April 2015

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: 571244, 571243.