Strong low pressure produced heavy snow and blizzard conditions for much of the west coast.
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.
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
Strong low pressure produced heavy snow and blizzard conditions for much of the west coast.
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 Apr 3, 1:09 PM AKST, 10 hours 51 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 209 PM AKDT Fri Apr 3 2020 .SYNOPSIS... Another late winter/early spring storm will bring a period of very active weather for the entire Northland and West Coast beginning today and lasting through Monday. Expect mixed rain and snow along parts of the southwest coast with accumulating snowfall for the rest of the Mainland as a strong storm and the associated warm front moves inland. Colder air and blowing snow will impact large portions of the Mainland as a strong cold front moves east Sunday. Moreover, a coastal surge will impact the West Coast with the possibility of water moving overtop the ice and then inland during the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Analysis and Upper Levels... An elongating shortwave upper level trough is moving across the Interior toward the Yukon Territory this afternoon. Light snow associated with this system impacting the Tanana Valley north to the Hills around Fairbanks, and will continue to shift east by this evening. The bigger story is out west where shortwave ridging is building over the Eastern Bering and Southwest Mainland ahead of a potent warm front currently over northern Bering Sea. Weak onshore flow ahead of this strong front is already bringing snow and poor weather conditons to the West Coast. Model Discussion... The numerical weather models are in generally good agreement with a long duration storm expected to impact then entire state beginning this evening and lasting through Monday. The storm will come in phases as a warm front moves east through tomorrow, then a powerful cold front moves across the Interior and to the North Slope Sunday and Sunday night. The biggest discrepancy continues to be the low position on Saturday night and Sunday morning as it moves inland around the Seward Peninsula. The GFS remains a northerly and weaker outlier while the Canadian remains the furthest south, NAM and ECMWF somewhere in the middle. This forecast favors the NAM as it continues to show very strong 40-50 MPH core of strong winds moving through Norton Sound and the northern Yukon Delta coast. Central and Eastern Interior... Light snowfall will taper off to flurries this evening as the system responsible for it moves into the Yukon. A very brief break in weather will give way to more snow chances Saturday through Monday as a strong coastal storm moves inland. This storm will occur in waves as the warm front brings snow Saturday with a cold front moving through on Sunday, which will be accompanied by gusty southwest winds Sunday and Monday. Expect accumulations to range from 5-12", heaviest snow amounts in the hills and higher elevation Interior mountains. Blowing and drifting snow is likely along the highway summits beginning Saturday night and Sunday as colder air moves back in. North Slope and Brooks Range... A series of weather systems moving across the region will bring more snow today and through the weekend, with the heaviest snow once again occurring on the southern facing slopes of the Brooks Range. Gusty south winds develop in the passes of the eastern Brooks Range once again on Saturday, with gusts to 40 mph possible. A winter weather advisory has been issued for blowing snow in the passes of the eastern Brooks Range. Snow will increase on Sunday as a front moves across the region through Monday. West Coast and Western Interior.... Very active weather is in store for the coast and Western Interior as a strong warm front moves inland and brings heavy accumulating snow to inland areas and upslope regions along the Seward Peninsula and Noatak/Selawik Valleys. Some rain will mix in across the Norton Sound region into the Lower Yukon Valley and Yukon Delta. The warm front and first round of heavy precipitation will occur tonight with a continued period of onshore gusty winds creating hazardous weather conditions with blowing and drifting snow lasting through Saturday night along with heavy accumulating snow over higher terrain. Saturday night and Sunday, a strong cold front will move onshore and rapidly move inland, bringing dropping temperatures along with more accumulating and blowing snow, especially across Norton Sound and the Yukon Delta where possible blizzard like conditions are likely. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4... The strong weather system that will affect the west coast this weekend has the potential to cause elevated water levels along the coast. As water levels rise there is the potential to push water on top of the ice through open leads and along the coast where shorefast ice is breaking up. Areas around Norton Sound and along the Yukon Delta will be most susceptible as the low moves inland. && .FIRE WEATHER...None. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Coastal Flood Advisory for AKZ211-AKZ212. Winter Storm Warning for AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ210-AKZ211-AKZ213- AKZ217-AKZ218-AKZ219. Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ206-AKZ212-AKZ214-AKZ215-AKZ216- AKZ221-AKZ222. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225. && Ahsenmacher APR 20
3 blizzard, 2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Pictures on social media with Red Dog Mine tagged, reporting blowing wet snow for several hours, having to clean exits of mine buildings every hour.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Deering ASOS. Visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 49 kt (56 mph) at the Deering ASOS.
Heavy snow reported in the Noatak Valley with a storm total of 10 inches.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Nome ASOS. Visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 43 kt (49 mph) at the Nome ASOS.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Point Hope AWOS. Visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 35 kt (40 mph) at the Point Hope AWOS.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2020
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: 875672, 875673, 875675, 875670, 875671.