Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait
- When
- January 30, 10:00 PM AKST to January 31, 3:17 AM AKST
- Where
- St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS
Blizzard in Alaska, January 30 to 31, 2016
A 966 mb low pressure center in the western Bering Sea along with its associated occluded front brought snow and blowing snow to Saint Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait during the morning hours of January 31st. Zone 213 - Blizzard conditions were observed at the Tin City AWOS.
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 966 mb low pressure center in the western Bering Sea along with its associated occluded front brought snow and blowing snow to Saint Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait during the morning hours of January 31st.
Zone 213 - Blizzard conditions were observed at the Tin City AWOS. Additionally the wind gusted to 44 mph (38 kt) at the Tin City 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 Jan 30, 12:22 PM AKST, 9 hours 38 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 12:22 PM AKST, 9 hours 38 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 1222 PM AKST SAT JAN 30 2016 .DISCUSSION... THE 12Z MODELS INITIALIZED WELL AGAINST THE 12 ANALYSIS AND VERIFIED WELL AGAINST THE 18Z ANALYSIS. MODELS SPREAD IS CONSIDERABLE ESPECIALLY ON POSITION AND STRENGTH OF CENTRAL BERING SEA LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM AS EARLY AS SUNDAY EVENING AND MONDAY MORNING. SPREAD NEVER REALLY RECOVERS IN THE MID AND LONG TERM WITH CONSIDERABLE SPREAD NOTED BETWEEN MODEL FAMILIES AND MODEL RUNS THROUGH THE MID AND LONG TERM. ALOFT AT 500 HPA...A WEAK UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE WESTERN SEWARD PENINSULA CONTINUES TO LIFT NORTH AND WEST AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE OVER THE SOUTHEASTERN INTERIOR CONTINUES TO BUILD NORTH AND WEST OVER THE STATE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. BY MONDAY A VERY HIGH AMPLITUDE AND SKINNY RIDGE WITH AXIS FROM WRANGEL ISLAND TO JUNEAU PARKS IN PLACE THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK EFFECTIVELY LIMITING PRECIP CHANCES IN THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR. PRECIPITATION WILL ALSO BE LIMITED OVER THE NORTH SLOPE. AREAS OF STRATUS AND FOG TRAPPED UNDER THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE WILL CREATE A FORECAST CHALLENGE FOR CEILINGS AND TEMPERATURES OVER THE INTERIOR. ON THE WEST COAST A FRONTAL BAND STRETCHING FROM A 972 MB LOW JUST NORTH OF ADAK AND STRETCHING NORTH TO NEAR ST LAWRENCE ISLAND AND THEN SOUTHEAST TO NEAR NUNIVAK ISLAND WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE FOCAL POINT FOR MIXED PRECIPITATION SOUTH OF UNALAKLEET WITH MOSTLY SNOW TO THE NORTH AND WEST. BLIZZARD WARNING FOR ZONE 213 AS SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW EXPECTED AS FRONT STALLS OVER ST LAWRENCE ISLAND AND GRADIENT INCREASES BETWEEN INTERIOR RIDGE AND LOW MOVING NORTH FROM THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA. ARCTIC SLOPE...WINDS WILL INCREASE OVER THE ARCTIC SLOPE AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK AS A STRONG SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM NORTH OF THE STATE BUILDS SOUTH AND EAST OVER THE EASTERN NORTH SLOPE. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ213. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ214. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220. && CCC JAN 16
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
- Rip Current in Oregon, January 30, 2016
- Heavy Snow and Damaging Wind in Nevada, January 30 to 31, 2016
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Colorado, January 30 to 31, 2016
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Utah, January 30 to 31, 2016
- High Wind in Texas, January 30 to 31, 2016
- Winter Weather in Colorado, January 30 to 31, 2016
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Nevada, January 30 to 31, 2016
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in California, January 30 to 31, 2016
- High Wind in New Mexico, January 30 to 31, 2016
- Wildfire in Texas, January 30 to 31, 2016
- Wildfire in Oklahoma, January 30, 2016
- Wildfire in Texas, January 30 to 31, 2016
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2016
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: 614451.