Low pressure and a strong pressure gradient produced blizzard conditions over the Eastern North Slope on April 7th 2020.
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.
Low pressure and a strong pressure gradient produced blizzard conditions over the Eastern North Slope on April 7th 2020.
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 6, 2:13 PM AKST, 9 hours 47 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 313 PM AKDT Mon Apr 6 2020 .SYNOPSIS... A deep upper level low over the northeastern Interior will continue to weaken and move east into Canada ushering in a more quiet weather pattern over Northern Alaska. Widespread snow showers continue this afternoon with brief heavy bursts of snow and lower visibility in blowing snow as gusty winds push to the surface in and near the showers. The snow showers have diminished over the southern portions of the West Coast and Western Interior and will diminish over the Norther portions of the West Coast and Western Interior late this afternoon. The snow showers will diminish this later this evening and tonight over the Central Interior and will diminish Tuesday over the Eastern Interior. Below normal temperatures are expected again over the region through mid week with a slow warm up through the end of the week. && .DISCUSSION... Aloft...At 500 mb a complex long wave trough with a 495 dam low centered 300 nm north of Wrangel Island and a 505 dam low centered over the McKenzie Delta will push east tonight and Tuesday. A strong shortwave over the Southern Bering Sea will push east over Bristol Bay Tuesday and then into the Northern Gulf of Alaska to be centered just east of Kodiak Island on Wednesday. Strong westerly flow develops between and 500 dam low just north of Point Barrow and a ridge building north into Southern Alaska on Thursday and Friday. 850 mb temperatures over northern will start off unseasonably cool this evening and will warm slowly through the week. 850 mb temperatures currently near 20 below over Fairbanks will warm to near 14 below on Wednesday and will continue to warm to near 10 below by Friday. Clouds and winds will prevent surface temperatures from tanking over much of Northern Alaska however surface temperatures are still expected to be around 10 degrees below normal tonight and Tuesday but will recover to near normal by the end of the week. Surface...A 997 mb low is centered near Prudhoe Bay will continue to weaken into a trough as it pushes east past Demarcation Point Tuesday morning. Weak high pressure will remain in place over South Central and Southwest Alaska tonight and will push into the Interior. A 992 mb low pushes north and east into the Northeast Gulf of Alaska on Wednesday. As this low pushes north and east a front wrapping around the low will push a front over the southern Interior on Wednesday night and Thursday. As the weak front pushes into the Southern portions of the Eastern and Central Interior expect a chance of light snow Tuesday and Wednesday. Weak high pressure will build in over Southwest Alaska and the Interior Wednesday and Thursday. Models... The 12Z model suite initialized well against the 12Z surface analysis and verified well against the 18z surface analysis. Models are in better agreement with the overall synoptic features than they were for the last several runs. Made only minor edits to ongoing forecast package and local edits for know windy areas. North Slope and Brooks Range: A weather front continues to push eastward over the North Slope through Tuesday. This front will bring periods of periods of snow resulting in 1 to 2 inches of snow through Tuesday. Northwest winds continue to diminish this afternoon and will become west to southwest tonight and Tuesday. East of Utqiagvik, light southwest winds will ramp up tonight and becoming westerly as the front passes. The strongest winds will be east of Deadhorse in the 25 to 35 mph range with gusts to 45 mph. This will cause areas of blowing snow. We opted to continue the Winter Weather Advisory blowing snow in zone 204 through Tuesday morning as winds are expected to remain gusty in this area through mid morning on Tuesday. The Winter Weather Advisory for zone 206 for low visibilities in blowing snow through the Eastern Brooks Range Passes continues through this evening. Visibilities are expected to improve later this evening as winds through the Eastern Brooks Range passes diminish. West Coast and Western Interior: Conditions continue to improve tonight as the low over the Interior continues to move east and weaken. Snow showers over the Western Interior will taper off this evening from the west to the east, with an additional inch of snow possible east of Galena this evening. Colder temperatures expected tonight with single digits above zero and below zero expected in the Western Interior. High temperatures in the mid to upper teens are expected in the Western Interior. Temperatures will slowly trend upwards through the week. Central and Eastern Interior: Snow showers, some producing brief heavy snow, strong winds, and low visibilities in blowing snow will gradually diminish late tonight in the Central Interior and Tuesday in the Eastern Interior as an upper level trough moves across the state. Another 1 to 2 inches of snowfall is expected as the showers pass through the area. Gusty southwest winds will continue through Tuesday, with areas of blowing and drifting snow expected over highway summits. Colder temperatures expected tonight and tuesday with a gradual warm up through the week. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None. && .FIRE WEATHER...None. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ204-AKZ206. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ240-PKZ245. && CCC APR 20
2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Deadhorse ASOS. 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 Deadhorse ASOS.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Barter Island AWOS. Visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 44 kt (51 mph) at the Barter Island 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: 876802, 876806.