Strong low pressure system produced heavy snow and blizzard conditions for much of the west coast, beginning February 17th and continuing through the 20th 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.
Strong low pressure system produced heavy snow and blizzard conditions for much of the west coast, beginning February 17th and continuing through the 20th 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 17, 3:55 AM AKST, 8 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 355 AM AKST Mon Feb 17 2020 .SYNOPSIS... Lingering light snow along a weakening front will dissipate early this morning from the Seward Peninsula east to the Tanana Valley. Heavy snow associated with a potent low in the southeastern Bering Sea will move northeast from the Yukon Delta Monday into Tuesday. Blizzard conditions are likely on St. Lawrence Island where winds may gust in excess of 60 mph. Light snow will linger following frontal passage as the parent low reaches the Y-K Delta Tuesday. Areas north of the Alaska Range and roughly east of Tanana to Fort Yukon will see little snow due to a strong Chinook setup. Southerly winds through Alaska Range Passes will become very strong this morning into Tuesday, and gusts may exceed 70 mph at times. Temperatures statewide will increase through Tuesday to become well above average. Southerly flow will weaken Wednesday, leaving widespread snow showers spread out over much of the state. A slow cooling trend is expected to resume Wednesday, particularly across northwestern Alaska. && .DISCUSSION... Aloft 500 mb... Mainly zonal flow aloft this morning will quickly transition to southerly flow this afternoon as ridging amplifies ahead of a deep Bering Sea trough. The closed low will approach the Y-K Delta this evening, and quickly lose steam as it slows down and occludes. The ridge ahead of it will progress rather quickly to the east as the low gradually dissipates over the northwest coast Wednesday. Longwave troughing over the Bering Sea will continue to push shortwave features east across the Aleutians into late this week. By Friday, the longwave trough will encompass much of Alaska, facilitating a return to seasonably cool temperatures. North Slope and Brooks Range... Cold temperatures will linger across the region into Monday with no significant changes expected. The arrival of a weather front from the southwest Tuesday, will bring relatively warm temperatures northward. Highs may creep into the single digits above, mainly east of Nuiqsut Tuesday into Wednesday. As the front reaches the coast Tuesday, light snow is likely west of Prudhoe Bay, with accumulations of around 1 to 2 inches through Wednesday. East winds will also increase as the front draws near the coast, but wind chills are not expected to be a threat due to increasing temperatures around this time. Temperatures are expected to cool again Thursday as high pressure builds to the north, and a return to near or below average temperatures is expected through the weekend. West Coast and Western Interior... Light snow associated with a weakening front will taper off early this morning across the Seward Peninsula and areas east. A potent low centered north of Unalaska will push a weather front northward from the Yukon Delta, bringing heavy snow and gusty winds. Snow will reach Nome to Galena by noon, then Kotzebue to Ambler to Bettles by this evening. St. Lawrence Island will experience blizzard conditions this afternoon into early Tuesday as northeast winds gust to 60 mph or greater. Strong winds will cause visibility issues across the mainland as well, particularly across the lower Yukon Valley, Nulato Hills, and Selawik Valley where winds up to 30 mph will reduce visibility to a half mile or less at times. A few hours of heavy snowfall with the initial front will frontload the majority of the accumulation with this storm. Light snow will linger following frontal passage as the occluded low slowly moves up the coast and dissipates Wednesday over Kotzebue Sound. Storm total snowfall through Wednesday will generally range from 6 to 12 inches across the lower Yukon Valley north to the western Brooks Range, and 4 to 7 inches form much of the immediate coast. Cooler temperatures are expected Wednesday as the low moves north and weakens, and a cooling trend to below average temperatures is expected into the weekend. Central and Eastern Interior... A strong pressure gradient across the Alaska Range supported by strong southerly flow aloft will allow gap flow winds to continue to increase through this evening. Winds through Windy and Isabel Passes are expected to gust in excess of 70 mph at times. These winds will bring much warmer temperatures to the area. Additionally, Tanana Valley Jet winds exacerbated by lee side troughing will bring strong east winds to the Delta Junction area with gusts to 50 mph. Exit flow from Isabel Pass may cause erratic shifts in wind and temperature from Fort Greely to Delta Junction. Dry downsloping winds will shadow out any significant precipitation north of the Alaska Range and generally east of Tanana to Fort Yukon will remain dry. Southerly flow will diminish with frontal passage Tuesday. A second system moving east into Bristol Bay Wednesday will again support weaker southerly flow and continued warmer than average temperatures into Thursday. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory for AKZ223. Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ210-AKZ211- AKZ212-AKZ214-AKZ218-AKZ219. Winter Storm Warning for AKZ215-AKZ216-AKZ217. Blizzard Warning for AKZ213. High Wind Warning for AKZ225-AKZ226. Gale Warning for PKZ210-PKZ220. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ225. && COWMAN FEB 20
4 blizzard, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Brevig Mission AWOS. Visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 30 kt (35 mph) at the Brevig Mission AWOS.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Shungnak AWOS. Visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 47 kt (54 mph) at the Shungnak AWOS.
Kaltag reported 9.0 inches of snow that fell on the 18th of February.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Kivalina ASOS. Visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 40 kt (46 mph) at the Kivalina ASOS.
Blizzard conditions were observed at the Shaktoolik AWOS. Visibility was reduced to one quarter mile or less at times in snow and blowing snow. There was a peak wind gust of 34 kt (39 mph) at the Shaktoolik 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, 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: 878741, 878750, 878736, 878757, 878761.