Blizzard and Winter Storm in Alaska, December 4 to 8, 2021

Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred across the northern Seward Peninsula and the coast from Cape Krusenstern northward. This was the second strong weather system to impact the region the first week of December. The weather station in the village of Kivalina reported a visibility near zero along with very strong winds. Wind gusts from the southeast to 75 mph were observed at Kivalina in the early evening of December 5th but the wind sensor had not been reporting for much of the day so it is possible peak winds were higher. Point Hope reported visibility to one half a mile at times and southeast wind gusts which peaked at 64 mph on the December 5th.

Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred across lower Noatak River Valley with near blizzard conditions in the lower Kobuk Valley. The weather station in the village of Noatak reported a visibility near zero along with very strong winds. A peak wind gust from the southeast to 60 mph was observed at Noatak in the morning of December 5th. Red Dog Mine also reported near zero visibility and peak wind gusts to 47 mph on December 5th.

Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred across Kotzebue Sound. The weather station at the village of Kotzebue reported a visibility near zero along with very strong winds. Wind gusts peaked from the east to 70 mph during the morning of December 5th with frequent gusts from 60 to 70 mph during the morning hours.

Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred across the Seward Peninsula. The weather station at the village of Buckland reported visibility near zero and occasionally below one half mile at Deering. Strong winds were also observed with wind gusts peaking from the southeast to 64 mph in Deering and to 51 mph in Buckland on December 5th.

Blizzard conditions and southeast winds gusting from 55 mph to nearly 70 mph occurred across the southern Seward Peninsula. Visibility near zero was observed in Nome, Golovin, and White Mountain. Peak wind gusts reached 58 mph at Nome, 61 mph at Golovin, and 69 mph in White Mountain during the morning hours of December 5th. Businesses and schools were closed across the region due to 5 foot or greater snow drifts and poor visibility. A structure under construction in Golovin had the front paneling ripped off and was flapping in the wind (see image).

Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred from St. Lawrence Island to the Bering Strait coast. This was the second strong weather system to impact the region the first week of December. The weather stations in the villages of Savoonga, Wales, and Teller all reported a visibility near zero along with very strong winds. Widespread southeast winds gusting from 70 to 80 mph were observed. Peak wind gusts ranged from 98 mph at Tin City, 76 mph at Savoonga, 70 mph at Gambell, and 74 mph at Wales during the late afternoon and evening of December 4th. Power outages were reported at Wales along with significant snowdrifts in the communities.

Blizzard conditions and high winds occurred across the Yukon Delta. This was the second strong weather system to impact the region the first week of December. The weather station in the villages of Scammon Bay and Mountain Village reported a visibility near zero along with very strong winds, while other communities in the region reported near blizzard conditions with visibility one half mile or less at times. Wind gusts peaked during the overnight hours of December 4th from the southeast to 75 mph at Cape Romanzof, 68 mph at Scammon Bay, and 63 mph at Mountain Village.

Heavy snow, strong winds, and near blizzard conditions impacted the Lower Yukon Valley communities. Officials at the school in Russian Mission reported a storm total of 8 inches of new snow with significant drifting. In Anvik, visibility was one half mile or less at times with southeast wind gusts peaking at 50 mph on December 5th.

Heavy snow impacted several of the middle Yukon River Valley communities. The SNOTEL at Galena reported around 13 inches during the event.

Very heavy snow fell along the Brooks Range with the highest amounts from the Dalton Highway westward. The COOP observer in Wiseman reported an incredible storm total of 41.6 inches between 4 PM Sunday December 5th and 4 AM Tuesday December 7th. Another resident in Wiseman observed approximately 37 inches that fell between Sunday evening December 5th and Noon Monday December 6th. Amounts were lighter just to the south with the Coldfoot SNOTEL reporting a storm total of 19 inches for the event.

Heavy snow impacted several of the Upper Koyukuk River Valley communities. The weather observer in Bettles reported 13.7 inches of snow between Sunday evening December 5th and Monday afternoon December 6th.

Strong southerly Chinook winds were observed through Alaska Range passes. The AKDOT Road Weather Information System observation along the Parks Highway at Antler Creek reported a peak gust of 78 mph during the early afternoon of December 6th.

Strong southerly Chinook winds were observed through Alaska Range passes. The Ft. Greely Mesonet observation Texas Condo near the Richardson Highway reported occasional gusts to 81 mph between the evening of December 5th and the morning of December 6th.

Heavy snow and strong winds in the Alaska Range resulted in near blizzard conditions. The AKDOT Trims Maintenance Camp on the Richardson Highway reported 11 inches of storm total snowfall, poor visibility in snow and blowing snow, and heavy drifting across the highway. Winds started out as southerly and shifted to northerly in the later half of the event, which impacted different portions of the highway corridor through the Alaska Range.