needs editing before certification.
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 AFC wrote it up.
Placeholder...needs editing before certification.
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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 25, 5:08 PM AKST, 22 minutes earlier.
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 508 PM AKST Tue Feb 25 2020 .ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS... There is a closed upper level ridge over the northern Bering Sea that nudges into southwest Alaska. There is a strong vertically stacked low over the southwest Gulf, moving northeastward. There is a large vertically stacked low south of the western Aleutians and slowly moving east. A frontal boundary stretches west to east across the southern Bering, then across the eastern Aleutians and western Alaska Peninsula into the southwestern Gulf. A warm/occluded front associated with the Gulf low extends from Kodiak northeast through the Valdez area into the Copper River Basin, bringing snow to much of the Gulf coastal areas and Prince William Sound. With surface high pressure to the north and low pressure to the south, winds generally remain northerly over the southern mainland and east-northeasterly over the Bering and Aleutians. && .MODEL DISCUSSION... The numerical models are in good agreement through Thursday afternoon. There are still some differences in the location of the low in the Gulf. Models have continued to trend significantly further east with this system. Thus, we now expect precipitation to end much sooner in the week for the Prince William Sound area. Forecast confidence is a little above normal today. && .AVIATION... PANC...VFR conditions and light north winds will persist. Occasional gusty winds and/or a snow flurry are possible this evening. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 and 2...Wed and Thu)... Snow will continue to develop over the Gulf and coastal locations through Wednesday as a storm centered over the southern Gulf slowly moves north and weakens. Gusty winds are expected to continue through late tonight and then taper down early Wednesday. Gusty winds may ease through channeled terrain, however they will continue through the end of the work week as a cold pool remains over the Copper River Basin while the Gulf low tracks toward the Northeastern Gulf. Inland locations will see scattered showers this evening as the storm system sends upper level waves across Southcentral. The storm system weakens significantly late Wednesday into Thursday as the low fills on an eastward track. A trough pattern lingers over the northern Gulf on Thursday and Friday with a ridge over the interior. The pattern will mainly be dry during this period; however, a few showers are possible across eastern Copper River Valley on Friday on as a weak boundary extends north from the Gulf low. && && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA (Days 1 through 2...Wed and Thu)... As the low south of Kodiak continues to move to the northwest and the high remains over the northern Bering: winds will relax over the southwest tonight. Areas of blowing snow across Bethel and surrounding areas will continue to weaken before ending Wednesday morning. Drier conditions should prevail with temperatures beginning to cool tomorrow as northwesterly flow brings in colder, Arctic air. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (Days 1 through 2...Wed and Thu)... As an area of low pressure continues to move east across the Aleutian Chain, it will interact with an area of high pressure in the northern Bering. This interaction will slow the progression of the front, as the low weakens through Thursday afternoon. This will propagate a showery pattern across the Aleutians and the Bering. There is model inconsistency as to whether precipitation makes it's way as far north as Saint Paul with this front. && .MARINE (Days 3 through 5 Fri through Sun)... On Friday a strong system will move into the Aleutians, and into the Bering Sea Friday night and Saturday. This system will bring widespread gales across the Aleutians, spreading northward across the Bering through Sunday. Storm force winds are also expected Friday night and Saturday across the central and western Aleutians and the Bering Sea west of the Pribilofs. On Friday night into Saturday there is also a chance of some westerly gales through the Barren Islands area. && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7 Sat through Tue)... On Saturday morning a strong low pressure system will be centered over the western Aleutians, with a ridge over the southern Alaskan mainland. This low will move north into the central Bering by Sunday morning, and the ridge will move east into Canada. This will open up moist southwesterly flow aloft over the southern mainland, producing active weather Sunday and Monday. By Tuesday things become considerably more uncertain. The current forecast is for the upper low to open up into a trough and slide eastward across the mainland. However, there is a large spread in the possible solutions and forecast confidence by Tuesday is low. && .AFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PUBLIC...Blizzard Warning 131 (Thompson Pass). Winter Weather Advisory 171. MARINE...Heavy Freezing Spray Warning 179 414 185. Gale Warning 185 411 412 119 120 127 128 130 131 132 138 139 352. FIRE WEATHER...NONE. && SYNOPSIS AND MODEL DISCUSSION...BL SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA...KH SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS...CK MARINE/LONG TERM...BL
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1136 AM AKST TUE FEB 25 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1130 AM SNOW 1 ESE KODIAK 57.79N 152.39W
02/25/2020 E5.0 INCH KODIAK ISLAND AK OTHER FEDERAL
SPOTTER REPORTED 4-6 INCHES OF SNOW AS WELL
AS SNOW BLOWING AND DRIFTING.
&&
MVPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1137 AM AKST TUE FEB 25 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1130 AM SNOW 2 SE KODIAK STATION 57.74N 152.50W
02/25/2020 E3.5 INCH KODIAK ISLAND AK OTHER FEDERAL
SPOTTER REPORTED 3-4 INCHES OF SNOW ALONG
WITH BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.
&&
MV1 avalanche. Local standard time, as filed.
Anchorage Daily News reported the avalanche death of a snowmobiler on Unalaska Island. The avalanche was noticed around 5:30 p.m. and Search and Rescue was called since the victim was known to be in the area.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalanche, Eastern Aleutians | 2020-02-25 | 21 | Male | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
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: 871644.