Blizzard in Alaska, March 1, 2015

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, March 1, 2015
Start: 2015-03-01T00:00
End: 2015-03-01T10:00
Location: Alaska

March 1, 2015 · NWS AFG · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Event continued from February. Strong cold advection and a very strong pressure gradient behind a 997 mb low moving east from Barrow to Banks Island coupled with a strong 1038 mb high pressure over northwest Alaska produced hurricane force winds along with blowing snow and blizzard conditions on the eastern Beaufort Sea Coast (zone 204) during the evening of February 28th and early March 1st.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Zone 203...Blizzard conditions were observed in the Prudhoe Bay area during the late afternoon of the 28th and into the early morning of the 1st, as reported at Deadhorse and Nuiqsut. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less in blowing snow. winds gusted to 53 kt (63 mph) at the Deadhorse ASOS.

Zone 204: The strongest wind at the Point Thomson Mesonet site gusted to 66 kts (76 mph) until the winds disabled the sensor. Blizzard conditions were likely at Barter Island, as the AWOS visibility was frequently one-quarter mile with winds gusting to 58 kt (67 mph) until the winds disabled the sensor.

Zone 206; Blizzard conditions likely occurred over areas east of the Dalton Highway, based on the duration and severity of observations from zone 203 and 204.

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 28, 3:56 PM AKST, 8 hours 4 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 28, 3:56 PM AKST, 8 hours 4 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
356 PM AKST SAT FEB 28 2015

.DISCUSSION...
MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH ABOUT 60 HOURS. VERY STRONG
STRONG SHORT WAVE MOVING ACROSS THE CENTRAL INTERIOR. THIS QUICK
MOVING FEATURE IS DROPPING A COUPLE OF INCHES OF SNOW AS IT
SWIFTLY MOVES EAST. STRONG WINDS WILL FOLLOW IN TRACE FROM THE
FRONTAL PASSAGE.

SEVERAL INTERIOR ZONES WILL SEE A FEW INCHES OF SNOW AND BLOWING
SNOW THROUGH TONIGHT WITH THE COLD FRONT MOVING EASTWARD.

THE STRONG WINDS IN THE INTERIOR WILL CAUSE BLOWING SNOW OVER
HIGHER TERRAIN BUT THE BIGGER STORY WILL BE ON THE ARCTIC COAST.

EXTREMELY STRONG WINDS WILL BEGIN TO RAMP UP THIS EVENING IN THE
EASTERN ARCTIC. WIND GUSTS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO AT LEAST TO
80 MPH THIS EVENING. THE TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT AND THE EXTREMELY
TIGHT TEMPERATURE GRADIENT ARE WORKING HAND IN HAND TO CREATE THE
INTENSE WINDS IN THE EASTERN ARCTIC. NEARLY ALL OF THE WIND WILL
ABATE BY SUN AFTERNOON.

A VERY STRONG AND FAST MOVING HIGH PRESSURE WILL MOVE INTO THE
WEST COAST THIS EVENING RIGHT BEHIND THE COLD FRONT AND PROVIDE
THE IMPETUS FOR MOVING THE COLD FRONT RAPIDLY EAST. THE RIDGE SETS
UP IN THE INTERIOR ON SUNDAY BUT THEN ANOTHER SERIES OF INTENSE
SHORT WAVES WORK IN TANDEM TO KNOCK DOWN THE RIDGE AND BRING IN
DECENT COLD AIR AND RAPIDLY MOVING PRECIPITATION MAKERS THROUGH
THE WEEK.

AT THIS POINT IT APPEARS THAT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH BY THE MIDDLE
PORTION OF THE WEEK WILL TURN COLD AGAIN AND NOT REALLY WARM INTO
THE SECOND WEEK OF MARCH.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ217.

BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ206.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ205-AKZ209-AKZ210-
AKZ216-AKZ218-AKZ219-AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222-AKZ224.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ240.

HURRICANE FORCE WIND WARNING FOR PKZ245.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230-
PKZ235.
&&

CF FEB 15

In the hours before

Local storm report, Feb 28, 6:17 PM AKST, 5 hours 43 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
617 PM AKST SAT FEB 28 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0600 PM     SNOW             2 W TWO RIVERS          64.87N 147.17W
02/28/2015  M2.5 INCH                           AK   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SNOWFALL TOTAL SO FAR. SNOW STILL FALLING.

0600 PM     SNOW             2 NNW COLLEGE           64.89N 147.85W
02/28/2015  M3.0 INCH                           AK   NWS EMPLOYEE

            SNOWFALL TOTAL.

&&

ET

Local storm report, Feb 28, 6:21 PM AKST, 5 hours 39 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
621 PM AKST SAT FEB 28 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0600 PM     SNOW             5 ENE COLLEGE           64.89N 147.68W
02/28/2015  M2.6 INCH                           AK   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

ET

Local storm report, Feb 28, 7:05 PM AKST, 4 hours 55 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
705 PM AKST SAT FEB 28 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0655 PM     SNOW             8 WNW ESTER             64.92N 148.27W
02/28/2015  M3.9 INCH                           AK   NWS EMPLOYEE

            SNOWFALL TOTAL SO FAR. WINDS GUSTING TO 40 MPH PAST 20
            MINUTES.

&&

ET

Local storm report, Feb 28, 8:16 PM AKST, 3 hours 44 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
816 PM AKST SAT FEB 28 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0815 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 3 NNW SALCHA            64.51N 146.99W
02/28/2015  E40 MPH                             AK   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

ET

Local storm report, Feb 28, 9:55 PM AKST, 2 hours 5 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
955 PM AKST SAT FEB 28 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0815 PM     SNOW             5 ENE COLLEGE           64.89N 147.68W
02/28/2015  M3.3 INCH                           AK   TRAINED SPOTTER

            SNOWFALL TOTAL. PEAK WIND OF 29 KNOTS AT 756 PM.

&&

ET

Event by event

3 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast

When: March 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 9:55 AM AKST
Where: Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: March 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 3:35 AM AKST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

Blizzard, N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R

When: March 1, 12:00 AM AKST to 10:00 AM AKST
Where: N. Brooks Rng E of Colville R forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

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

Every storm in Alaska in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, March 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: 568187, 568202, 568209.