A strong are of high pressure over the Beaufort Sea combined with a deep area of low pressure over the Bering Strait resulted in strong easterly winds developing along the Arctic Coast. The strong winds brought blizzard conditions along the coast.
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 are of high pressure over the Beaufort Sea combined with a deep area of low pressure over the Bering Strait resulted in strong easterly winds developing along the Arctic Coast. The strong winds brought blizzard conditions along the coast.
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 Apr 15, 6:09 AM AKST, 5 hours 8 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 709 AM AKDT Fri Apr 15 2022 .SYNOPSIS... Slightly cooler temperatures for today and Saturday before warming up again Sunday and early next week. Mostly dry for the Interior with an outside chance of light precipitation. Wet weather continues along the West Coast north to the Seward Peninsula through this weekend due to a low pressure system remaining mostly stationary in the southern Bering Sea until tropical remnants from Typhoon Malakas absorbs the low on Sunday, eventually ending back up in the Gulf of Alaska. && .DISCUSSION... Upper Levels and Analysis... Skinny upper level ridging still extends SE to NW over the middle part of the state sandwiched between troughing out west and east over Canada. Cooling temperatures for the Interior will be as a result of a shortwave trough moving over the area today, with a second shot tomorrow. Once the shortwave trough exits the Interior early Sunday, upper level ridging builds back in for early next week and troughing will persist over the Bering. At the surface, a strong 1045 mb high pressure is situated over the Arctic waters, while a 976 mb low over 60N in the Southern Bering will rotate mostly in place, weaken, and then get absorbed by the remnants of Typhoon Malakas on Sunday. That system will dive SE into the Gulf. The strong high pressure over the Arctic will weaken and move over the Yukon and Northwest Territories by Saturday. Models... 15/00z ROABs matched well with models and models have great agreement on the upper level pattern through the forecast period. Models at the surface also have a good handle on surface features with not much divergence through the short term period. Central and Eastern Interior... After hitting 50 in Fairbanks yesterday, much of the Interior will be below 40 degrees today. Cooler again tomorrow and then warming back into the 40's next week. High pressure will still mostly dominate with clear conditions and little cloud cover. Outside chance of precipitation closer to the Alaska Range and the SE Interior through the weekend. Gusty easterly to northeasterly winds currently occurring over higher terrain and highway summits, will gradually decrease Saturday and Sunday. West Coast and Western Interior... Gusty easterly winds will continue today for coastal and higher elevation areas before decreasing tonight and into Saturday. Light rain with possible snow mixed in will occur south of the Seward Peninsula through the weekend. General cloudiness will prevail through early next week south of the Seward Peninsula with much clearer conditions to the north. North Slope and Brooks Range... Gusty easterly winds with blowing snow and low visibility of one half mile or less at times currently occurring along the Arctic coast this morning. Expect winds to increase and peak today before decreasing tonight and into Saturday. Gusts between 45 and 55 mph is likely. Much calmer conditions for Sunday and Monday. Southerly winds currently occurring through the Brooks Range Passes with winds of 15 to 20 mph and gusts around 30 to 35 mph will persist through late Saturday. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None. Extended Forecast for Days 4 through 7... Basically the same weather pattern will continue into next week with upper level ridging forecast to dominate over the Mainland through next week resulting in dry conditions for the Interior and chances for precipitation at times for the West Coast. && .FIRE WEATHER... Due to record snowpack, no issues of concern with fire weather at this time. && .HYDROLOGY... Cooling temperatures today and Saturday will prompt a slower snowmelt process. Temperatures then warm again into the upper 30's and low 40's early next week. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ204. Gale Warning for PKZ200-PKZ201-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ230. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ215-PKZ225-PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. && KS APR 22
2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Easterly winds with gusts as high as 49 mph developed in Point Lay the morning of April 15th. Blowing snow associated with the strong winds caused the visibility to drop down to less than one quarter mile for several hours.
Strong winds developed along the Beaufort Sea coast the morning of the 15th. Nuiqsut saw gusts as high as 42 mph while Deadhorse saw gusts as high as 35 mph. The strong winds caused blowing snow to develop at both locations with several hours where the visibility below one quarter mile.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2022
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: 1020505, 1020523.