High pressure and cold temperatures over northern Alaska was replaced by a strong weather front that moved north through the Bering Strait and into the Chukchi Sea December 1st through the 4th. This resulted in high winds, blizzard conditions, and very cold wind chills over portions of the West Coast and North Slope.
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.
High pressure and cold temperatures over northern Alaska was replaced by a strong weather front that moved north through the Bering Strait and into the Chukchi Sea December 1st through the 4th. This resulted in high winds, blizzard conditions, and very cold wind chills over portions of the West Coast and North Slope.
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 Dec 1, 2:01 PM AKST, 38 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 201 PM AKST Wed Dec 1 2021 .SYNOPSIS... Light snow across the Interior, including the Fairbanks area, expected to continue through this afternoon before dissipating tonight. Bitter cold temperatures continue across the North Slope, with these colder temperatures filtering into the Interior again beginning tomorrow night. Cold and quiet conditions out west will end tomorrow night as a strong front brings southerly flow across St. Lawrence Island north through the Bering Strait and along the Chukchi Sea Coast through Saturday. Winter Storm Watches are in effect for these areas due to the threat of strong winds along with snow and blowing snow. A second, stronger winter storm expected to more widely impact the West Coast and Western Interior beginning on Sunday and lasting into next week. && .DISCUSSION... Models remain in good agreement through the short term aloft and at the surface. The upper level longwave trough situated across northern Alaska will retreat to the east over the next couple of days as strong ridging builds out west, with the ridge axis situated over the West Coast by Friday morning. This will result in northerly flow across the Interior, resulting in a cooling trend for Friday and Saturday with 850 mb temperatures dipping to the -25C to -30C range for the Interior and North Slope. This cold airmass will slowly retreat east as warmer air pushes in from the west on Saturday. An upper level trough digging across the Bering Sea on Friday will move to the West Coast by Friday night, bringing active weather to the West Coast Thursday night through Friday night. The associated front at the surface will bring strong winds, snow, and blowing snow to areas such as St. Lawrence Island, Bering Strait, Yukon Delta, and the Chukchi Sea Coast. This trough will then lift north into the Chukchi Sea by Saturday night, resulting in general westerly flow aloft going into the latter portions of the weekend. A strong closed low looks to dig into the Bering Sea behind this initial trough, with a strong winter storm bringing potential major impacts to the West Coast and Western Interior on Sunday. Model run to run consistency remains okay through Sunday, with larger discrepancies developing beyond Sunday night regarding this feature. Central and Eastern Interior... Light snow that developed overnight across the Interior is expected to continue through this afternoon before dissipating tonight. Up to an inch of snow is expected for the storm total snow through this evening across the Central Interior, Tanana Valley, and Yukon Flats. Skies will begin to clear tomorrow as high pressure builds, resulting in colder temperatures settling into the area going into the weekend, with lows falling to the 30s to 40s below zero through Sunday. North Slope and Brooks Range... Temperatures remain cold, primarily in the 20s to 30s below zero range this afternoon, with temperatures trending down into the 30s and 40 below zero expected over the next couple of days. Northeast flow across the Chukchi Sea Coast will diminish tonight as high pressure builds across the Arctic Plains through tomorrow. Flow will quickly pick up out of the south and gusting 50-60 mph along the Chukchi Sea Coast beginning tomorrow night as a weather front approaches from the west. These strong winds will persist into Saturday. A rapid warming trend will accompany this storm beginning on Friday out west and pushing eastward across the North Slope by Saturday. West Coast and Western Interior... Quiet weather conditions and cold temperatures tonight ahead of a change in weather pattern that will bring strong southerly winds and snow. Winter Storm Watches are in effect for St. Lawrence Island, the Bering Strait Coast, and the Chukchi Sea Coast beginning tomorrow night for strong winds gusting to 55 mph with blizzard conditions possible in snow and blowing snow. These conditions will last into Friday night for the Yukon Delta and Bering Strait, while strong winds along the Chukchi Sea Coast persist into Saturday. Attention will quickly shift to the major winter storm that is set to impact the West Coast and Western Interior beginning on Sunday, with an SPS in effect providing more details. Stay tuned for further updates regarding this storm. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...A powerful storm is expected late this weekend, which may cause some coastal flood issues, particularly for St. Lawrence Island due to the lack of ice currently in this region. Coastal areas along the West Coast from the Bering Strait south may see sea ice pushing up on the beaches where there is limited shorefast ice and who are prone to southeast winds. Extended Days 4 to 7...The strong winter storm advertised over the last several days is coming more into alignment on storm track as the storm moves across the West Coast and Western Interior beginning on Sunday. Another round of strong southerly flow will be accompanied with this system along the coast, with widespread snow across this region going into next week. An active pattern looks to persist through the middle of the week as westerly flow aloft persists with warmer temperatures across northern Alaska and periods of strong winds through passes of the Alaska and Brooks Ranges. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Chill Warning for AKZ206. Winter Storm Watch for AKZ207-AKZ213-AKZ214. Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ210. Gale Warning for PKZ210. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ220-PKZ225. && DEC 21
3 blizzard, 2 cold/wind chill, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Temperatures in the -30's F along the eastern Arctic coast combined with southwest winds around 15 mph resulted in bitterly cold wind chill readings. The Deadhorse airport reported wind chill temperatures to -64 F.
Temperatures in the -30's F along the eastern Arctic coast combined with southwest winds around 15 mph resulted in bitterly cold wind chill readings. Point Thompson airport reported wind chill temperatures to -63 F.
Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred through the Bering Strait. The weather station at the village of Wales reported over six hours with a visibility near zero along with very strong winds gusting to 70 mph.
Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred across the Yukon Delta. The weather station at the village of Scammon Bay reported visibility near zero for five hours along with very strong winds. Wind gusts peaked from the southeast to 51 mph during the afternoon of December 3rd.
High winds and near blizzard conditions occurred across portions of the northern Seward Peninsula and the coast from Cape Krusenstern northward. The weather station at the village of Point Hope reported wind gusts to 70 mph. Snow and blowing snow lowered visibility below one quarter of a mile at times from Kivalina north to Point Hope.
Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred across Kotzebue Sound. The weather station at the village of Kotzebue reported close to 16 hours with a visibility near zero along with very strong winds. Wind gusts peaked from the east to 55 mph during the afternoon of December 3rd.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2021
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: 1000768, 1000773, 1000536, 1000759, 1000766, 1000540.