A strong pressure gradient produced low wind chills across the Eastern North Slope on the 12th to the 14th of February 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.
A strong pressure gradient produced low wind chills across the Eastern North Slope on the 12th to the 14th of February 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 Feb 11, 2:46 PM AKST, 9 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 246 PM AKST Tue Feb 11 2020 .SYNOPSIS... High pressure will continue to be the dominant feature across northern Alaska through the rest of the week. So, cold temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills are expected. && .DISCUSSION... In general, models initialized well through Thursday. Model winds were a little weak over the west coast compared to observations, so nudged winds a little above model guidance in the short term across west coast areas. Aloft, at 500 mb, an area of low pressure persists over the eastern Beaufort Sea coast and extends northeast across Demarcation Point. This low will rotate in place over the next couple of days before breaking off and moving southwest over the remainder of the Beaufort Sea coast and into the North Slope Thursday and Friday. A ridge over the western coast of Alaska will move eastward across central and Interior AK tonight and Wed. A low moving along the Aleutians and into the Gulf of Alaska will temporarily undercut the ridge, and the far southeastern Interior may see some accumulating snowfall under this latter feature. While there is still model variance regarding how cold the airmass is, H850 temperatures are at least in the teens to 20s below with some model guidance dropping into the low 30s below through the week. Interior: Very cold temperatures are expected throughout the week and into the weekend, but the struggle with the temperature forecast due to intermittent cloud cover will continue, especially over the weekend. Currently, skies are clear across nearly the entirely of Interior AK, but clouds will increase across the southeastern Interior tonight. As a low moves into the Gulf of Alaska tonight, the pressure gradient will tighten, and wind chills will be a concern through Wed night, especially over summits. Wind the cold temperatures and breezy conditions at times, wind chill advisories are in place tonight through Wed night for zones 218, 219, 220, and 221. Late tonight/Wednesday, an area of low pressure will set up over the far eastern Interior, and some accumulating snow is expected south and east of Fairbanks. While most model consensus keeps the snow out of Fairbanks, the boundary will be close enough that a flurry isn't out of the question, although this is more likely southeast of town. Although Fairbanks probably will see some cloud cover overnight, the current thinking is that temperatures will once again drop into the 20s and 30s below, especially as high pressure quickly replaces the low on Thu. This high pressure will persist into the weekend with possibly another weak low developing along the Alcan border Friday night. North Slope and Brooks Range: Temperatures in the 20s and 30s below or colder will persist through the weekend. High pressure will prevail through the majority of the week, the exception being Thu as a weakening low moves onshore west of Prudhoe Bay. The low will dissipate by Thu evening and high pressure once again will replace it. Clouds and some snow showers are possible along the eastern Beaufort Sea coast with this system. Otherwise, winds will diminish through the overnight hours tonight, so the winds are not expected to be strong enough to maintain wind chill warning and advisory criteria beyond 6 AM. However, temperatures will still be extremely cold through the weekend. Along the Chukchi Sea coast, northeasterly winds will increase Thu night, persisting into Sat. West Coast: Very cold wind chills will occur tonight from the Chukchi Sea coast south. Wind chill advisories are or will be in effect for zones 207, 211, 212, 213, and 215. Late Wednesday, winds diminish so wind chill values should become less severe. Very cold temperatures will persist into the weekend with temperatures dropping into the teens and 20s below each night. With winds expected to increase again Friday, may need more wind chill headlines Friday and into the weekend. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ204-AKZ207-AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ213- AKZ215-AKZ218-AKZ219-AKZ220-AKZ221. Wind Chill Warning for AKZ203. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ200-PKZ210. && FEB 20
2 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
Low wind chills were observed at the Deadhorse ASOS. Winds of 15 mph or greater and cold temperatures produced wind chills of 67 below or colder at Deadhorse.
Low wind chills were observed at the Point Lay AWOS. Winds of 15 mph or greater and cold temperatures produced wind chills of 65 below or colder at Point Lay.
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, February 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: 878712, 878714.