Blizzard in Alaska, December 13 to 14, 2017

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, December 13 to 14, 2017
Start: 2017-12-13T05:00
End: 2017-12-14T18:00
Location: Alaska

December 13 to 14, 2017 · NWS AFG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Tight pressure gradient between a high over the arctic and low pressure over the west coast of Alaska produced blowing snow and strong winds to the north slope on December 14th 2017 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.

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.

Tight pressure gradient between a high over the arctic and low pressure over the west coast of Alaska produced blowing snow and strong winds to the north slope on December 14th 2017

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.

Zone 203: Blizzard conditions were observed at the Nuiqsut ASOS. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 39 kt (45 mph) at the Wainwright ASOS.

Zone 204: Blizzard conditions were observed at the Point Thomson AWOS. The visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 36 kt (41 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 Dec 12, 3:31 PM AKST, 13 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 12, 3:31 PM AKST, 13 hours 29 minutes before

Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
331 PM AKST Tue Dec 12 2017

.DISCUSSION...
An active southerly flow pattern continues across northern
Alaska. Overall, the models are in good agreement though Thursday
in terms of the overall synoptic scale pattern.

Central and Eastern Interior: The biggest issue in the short term
will be the winds in the Alaska Range. High Wind Warnings are out
for the Alaska Range with a Wind Advisory for the Delta Junction
area. We expect winds to continue to increase this afternoon and
peak this evening. There will be a brief break in the winds
overnight; however, current thinking is that winds will increase
again tomorrow with the strongest winds expected in the evening.
Little to no precipitation is expected out through Thursday. For
areas from Fairbanks south any precipitation that does fall
during this time will likely be freezing rain or rain due to warm
temperatures aloft; however, because of the downsloping winds off
of the Alaska Range precipitation making it to the ground is
fairly unlikely.. Warm surface temperatures are expected to
continue tomorrow with a cooling trend beginning on Thursday.

North Slope and Brooks Range: Winter Weather Advisories are out
all along the coast mainly for blowing snow. Current expectation
is that winds will increase all along the coast tonight and
especially tomorrow causing the visibility to decrease. Winds
decrease a bit Thursday; however, a band of snow is expected to go
through around the same time that the winds begin to decrease.
This snow band will bring an inch or two of snow as it moves
across.

West coast and Western Interior: A northward moving weather
system will bing precipitation to portions of the west coast and
western Interior tonight into tomorrow. Warmer temperatures aloft
will result in a mixed bag of precipitation types. Winter weather
advisories remain in effect for zones 211, 212 and 214. Winter
storm warnings for freezing rain are out for zones 215 and 216
where higher QPF values are expected during the period where the
sounding supports freezing rain. Snow is expected north of the
Seward Peninsula Wednesday night into Thursday morning as a
weather front move to the north. Up to 4 inches of snow is
possible in zones 207, 208 and 217.

Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None.

Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Wind Advisory for AKZ223.

High Wind Warning for AKZ225-AKZ226.

Winter Storm Warning for AKZ215-AKZ216.

Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ211-
AKZ212-AKZ214.

Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ210.

Gale Warning for PKZ230.

Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ235-
PKZ240-PKZ245.
&&

DEC 17

Event by event

2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast

When: December 13, 5:00 AM AKST to December 14, 6:00 PM AKST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS

Blizzard, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast

When: December 13, 10:00 AM AKST to December 14, 12:00 AM AKST
Where: Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS

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 2017 Every state in 2017 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, December 2017

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: 743821, 743822.