Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast
- When
- February 22, 11:20 PM AKST to February 23, 3:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- ASOS
Peak gust of 46 kt (53 mph).
Blizzard in Alaska, February 22 to 23, 2015
A 991 mb low over the Chukotsk Peninsula and a strong 1039 mb high pressure center west of Banks Island created strong winds and local blizzard conditions for the western Arctic slope mainly west of Barrow on the 23rd of February 2015. Zone 201: Blizzard conditions were observed at the Wainwright ASOS.
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 991 mb low over the Chukotsk Peninsula and a strong 1039 mb high pressure center west of Banks Island created strong winds and local blizzard conditions for the western Arctic slope mainly west of Barrow on the 23rd of February 2015.
Zone 201: Blizzard conditions were observed at the Wainwright ASOS. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 46 kt (53 mph) at the Wainwright ASOS.
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 22, 1:41 PM AKST, 9 hours 39 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 22, 1:41 PM AKST, 9 hours 39 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 141 PM AKST SUN FEB 22 2015 .DISCUSSION... MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH ABOUT 60 HOURS. THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE STATE IS GOING TO BE SHOVED EASTWARD BY THE UPPER LEVEL LOW THAT IS CURRENTLY NEAR KAMCHATKA PENINSULA. THIS LOW WILL MOVE NORTHEAST INTO FAR EAST RUSSIA AND PUSH THE RIDGE EASTWARD INTO CANADA BY MID WEEK. THE WARM AIR AND THE FREEZING RAIN HAS CAUSED HAVOC OVER NORTHERN ALASKA THIS WEEKEND FOR NEARLY ALL TYPES OF TRAVEL. COLDER AIR WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE STATE BY MONDAY AND THEN EXPAND EASTWARD. THE NEXT PUSH OF MOISTURE WILL OCCUR OVER THE EASTERN INTERIOR TONIGHT AND MONDAY. THIS WILL LIKELY BE MOSTLY RAIN BUT WILL HAVE SOME AREAS OF FREEZING RAIN MIXED IN EAST OF FAIRBANKS. ANYTHING AFTER MONDAY EVENING WILL BE ALL SNOW FOR NORTHERN ALASKA. THE LOW MOVING NORTHEAST AND THE HIGH NORTH OF THE ARCTIC COAST WILL CAUSE A PINCH IN THE GRADIENT NEAR THE ALCAN BORDER ON THE ARCTIC COAST. A BLIZZARD WATCH IS BEING ISSUED FOR THE FAR EASTERN PORTION OF THE ARCTIC COAST. WINDS ARE WINDING DOWN ON THE WEST COAST THROUGH TONIGHT. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ACROSS THE WESTERN ARCTIC WILL END THIS EVENING AS THE SNOW TAPERS OFF AND THE WINDS DIMINISH. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY FOR AKZ216. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ201. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ230-PKZ245. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ235-PKZ240- PKZ245. && CF FEB 15
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 Texas, February 22 to 23, 2015
- Winter Storm in Texas, February 22 to 23, 2015
- Heavy Snow and Heavy Rain in Arizona, February 22 to 24, 2015
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Oklahoma, February 22 to 23, 2015
- Cold in Michigan, February 22 to 23, 2015
- Extreme Cold in North Dakota, February 22, 2015
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, February 22, 2015
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, February 22, 2015
- Winter Storm in Texas, February 22 to 23, 2015
- Extreme Cold in South Dakota, February 22, 2015
- Winter Storm and High Wind in Utah, February 22 to 24, 2015
- Extreme Cold in Minnesota, February 22 to 23, 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: 558347.