Ice Storm, Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile
- When
- February 21, 7:33 PM AKST to February 22, 5:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
Ice Storm in Alaska, February 21 to 23, 2015
A weak warm front associated with a 981 mb low in the Bering Sea moved across the Alaska range and the Middle Tanana Valley on the 21st of February. Temperatures increased into the upper 30s meanwhile the ground was still frozen.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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 weak warm front associated with a 981 mb low in the Bering Sea moved across the Alaska range and the Middle Tanana Valley on the 21st of February. Temperatures increased into the upper 30s meanwhile the ground was still frozen. Light rain fell through much of the day on the 21st into the morning hours of the 22nd. Light rain lingered into the 23rd over the middle Tanana Valley due to a stalled weather front. Ice accumulation was reported at Eielson AFB on the 23rd.
Zone 222: .15 ice accumulation reported by NWS employee, roads and walkways very slick. Alaska Airlines in Fairbanks cancelled at least 4 flights due to freezing rain. At Eielson AFB, 0.27 inches of rain fell during the morning of the 23rd, the ground remaining is frozen.
Zone 223: .22 inches of rain fell near Salcha on the 23rd while the ground is frozen.
Zones 224/226: A spotter on the Robertson river reported over .1 ice accumulation.
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 Feb 21, 3:39 PM AKST, 3 hours 54 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 21, 3:39 PM AKST, 3 hours 54 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 339 PM AKST SAT FEB 21 2015 .DISCUSSION... MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH 60 HOURS. STRONG OCCLUSION AFFECTING THE WESTERN HALF OF THE STATE CONTINUES TO PUSH NORTH OVER THE WEST COAST. UPPER LEVEL RIDGE HAS BEEN SHOVED TO THE EAST JUST A BIT...JUST ENOUGH TO KEEP ALASKA RANGE PASSES RIGHT BELOW WARNING CRITERIA WINDS. A COUPLE OF PIECES OF ENERGY MOVE IN FROM THE SOUTH AND SLIDE INTO THE RIDGE AND INFECT THE RIDGE WITH SOME PVA. THIS WILL TRAVERSE THROUGH THE RIDGE AND ADD A LITTLE SNOWFALL TO THE NORTHERN INTERIOR. MEANWHILE MOISTURE CONTINUES TO STREAM NORTHWARD OVER THE WEST COAST. MOST OF THE ENERGY WILL BE CONFINED TO THE EXTREME WESTERN PORTION OF THE INTERIOR AND THE BERING STRAIT AND CHUKCHI SEA. WINDS HAVE INCREASED OVER THE WEST COAST AND NORTHWEST ARCTIC COAST. EXPECT BLIZZARD CONDITIONS TO DEVELOP OVER THE AREA FROM POINT LAY EAST. THE REMAINING PORTION OF THE ARCTIC COAST WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE BLOWING SNOW...SNOW AND FOG BUT STRONGEST WINDS SHOULD REMAIN WEST OF BARROW. FREEZING RAIN OVER NORTHERN ALASKA IS A FAIRLY WIDE AREA FROM THEWEST COAST TO THE ALCAN BORDER AND SOUTH OF THE BROOKS RANGE. COLDER AIR BEGINS TO BE USHERED BACK IN ON MONDAY FROM THE WEST. THE NEXT UPPER LOW WILL MOVE INTO THE BERING SEA AND FLATTEN OUT THE RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN PORTION OF THE STATE BY EARLY NEXT WEEK AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ225-AKZ226. FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY FOR AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ216. BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ201. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ207-AKZ213. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ225-PKZ230. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ235-PKZ240- PKZ245. && CF FEB 15
Event by event
4 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Ice Storm, Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng
- When
- February 21, 7:33 PM AKST to February 22, 5:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
Ice Storm, Middle Tanana Valley
- When
- February 22, 12:43 AM AKST to February 23, 12:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Middle Tanana Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS Employee
Roads and walkways very icy.
Ice Storm, Deltana and Tanana
- When
- February 22, 7:41 PM AKST to February 23, 2:30 AM AKST
- Where
- Deltana and Tanana forecast zone
- Reported by
- COOP Observer
What these are
- Ice Storm
- Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in New Jersey, February 21 to 22, 2015
- Winter Storm and Flood in West Virginia, February 21, 2015
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Delaware, February 21 to 22, 2015
- Winter Storm and Avalanche in West Virginia, February 21 to 22, 2015
- Winter Storm in Virginia, February 21, 2015
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Ohio, February 21, 2015
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 21 to 23, 2015
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, February 21 to 22, 2015
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, February 21 to 22, 2015
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, February 21 to 22, 2015
- Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Tennessee, February 21, 2015
- Winter Storm and Avalanche in Virginia, February 21 to 22, 2015
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 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: 571150, 571151, 571152, 571153.