A low deepening in the Gulf of Alaska and a high pressure located in the northeast Arctic tightened the gradient over the Western Interior and near the Seward Peninsula.
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 low deepening in the Gulf of Alaska and a high pressure located in the northeast Arctic tightened the gradient over the Western Interior and near the Seward Peninsula.
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 22, 4:21 PM AKST, 4 hours 35 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
421 PM AKST Thu Dec 22 2022
.SYNOPSIS...
Continued very cold and mainly dry over the Interior through the
weekend, while the North Slope remains near normal, and the West
Coast south of the Bering Strait and the SW Interior develop very
strong winds late tonight that last into the weekend.
Very strong high pressure over the ALCAN Border will weaken
tonight as a strong and mainly dry cold front moves southeast
across northern Alaska. Another strong high pressure over the
Arctic Ocean will build south over the North Slope tonight, and
over the Interior and West Coast on Fri. What this all means is
that very cold and mainly dry conditions will continue across
Interior Alaska, although winds will increase across the Interior
late tonight and Fri causing temperatures to increase in valleys,
but wind chills to decrease keeping things very cold in valleys
through the weekend. Interior hills and summits will see winds
increase dramatically late tonight into Fri, and remain strong
into the weekend. Hills of the Interior will see temperatures
falling tonight through Fri, with very cold wind chills over Hills
Fri into the weekend.
A weather system pushing into the northeast Gulf of Alaska Fri
night will bring a chance of snow and slightly less cold
conditions to the Southeast Interior Fri night into Sun.
Aloft...
An omega block with the blocking high over NW Alaska and the
Chukchi Sea will persist through the weekend, then break down
next week as a series of strong short waves move from the Canadian
Archipelago southeast across Interior Alaska. This means that
cold and generally dry conditions will continue into the weekend.
The first strong short wave now over NE Alaska will move southwest
across the Interior Thu night and over the southern Interior and
West Coast on Fri, and from Nome to Bethel on Fri night, over the
southeast Bering Sea on Sat, and to the Central Bering Sea on Sun.
Will see strong NE winds above 2000 ft with this feature, and
winds will mix down to the surface in areas prone to NE winds such
as Dalton Highway at Finger Mtn, and over the West Coast south of
the Bering Strait.
Surface...
A 1030 mb low 300 NM east of Barter Island will move southeast
tonight. An Arctic cold front stretching from the low to Old Crow
to Point Lay, will move to Northway to Anvik to Point Lay by 3am
Fri, to Burwash Landing to Nunivak Island to the Bering Strait to
Utqiagvik by 3pm Fri, and then move from the southeast Bering Sea
to Utqiagvik on Fri night and Sat. This will cause a strong low
to develop over Bristol Bay on Sat and over the southeast Bering
Sea on Sun. Strong northeast winds and strong cold advection will
spread southwest across Alaska with this front. Already windy
areas such as the West Coast south of the Bering Strait, the
southwest Interior, and Summits of the Interior Highways will see
winds increase late tonight and Fri. Valleys across the Eastern
Interior will see temperatures warm tonight and Fri as winds mix
out the coldest air, but winds chills will then fall to 30 to 55
below across most of the Eastern Interior. See long list of
warnings and advisories issues for many areas south of the Brooks
Range through the weekend.
A low moving into the NE Gulf of Alaska on Fri night will bring
clouds and a chance of snow to the southeast Interior Fri night
into Sat night.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
At 12Z, models verify well aloft. Models show similar solutions
through 3pm Sat, then the GFS and NAM move a stronger short wave
from NW Canada west over NE AK Sat night and Sun than the ECMWF
and Canadian. At this time favor the GFS and NAM since this short
wave is coming from a large pool over very cold air over the
Canadian Archipelago and would likely be deeper. Will use a blend
of the GFS and NAM for features aloft.
850 mb temperatures range from -8C over the West Coast to -22C
along the ALCAN Border. Expect 805 mb temps to fall 8-10C over the
Interior tonight and Fri, with significant cooling over the West
Coast on Fri with further cooling all areas through through Sat.
With precipitation, models in pretty good agreement through Sun.
Will use a blend of the NAM and GFS precip since they are the
preferred models aloft. Expect flurries over the North Slope and
NE Interior through tonight, then flurries along the ALCAN border
Fri. Expect more flurries over the North Slope Fri night and Sat.
Only real precip will be a chance of snow from Tok SE on Fri
night, a chance of snow southeast of Dot Lake on Sat, and a chance
of snow from Delta Junction south and east Sat night and Sun.
Surface valley temps will moderate towards 850 mb temps under
clouds where chance of snow is.
At 15Z, models verify well at the surface. Models show similar
solutions at the surface through 3pm Sat. After that time, then
the NAM and GFS keep a deeper surface low over the SE Bering than
the ECMWF does. Since this low over the Bering will be a cold core
vertically stacked low over warm water, expect it to be as deep
or deeper than any models indicate. Will use a blend of the NAM
and GFS for surface features and winds to account for this
difference on the low over the Bering Sat into Sun.
Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None.
&&
.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AK...High Wind Warning for AKZ211-212-214.
High Wind Warning for AKZ213.
High Wind Warning for AKZ215.
Wind Advisory for AKZ216.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ218.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ219-221.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ220.
Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ222.
Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ223.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ227.
PK...Gale Warning for PKZ200.
Storm Warning for PKZ201-210.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ210.
Gale Warning for PKZ220.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ225.
&&3 high wind, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Unalakleet AWOS measured a gust of 61 mph late evening on the 22nd before increasing to 66 mph early morning of the 23rd. Strong winds continued before tapering off by the afternoon of the 25th.
Cape Romanzof AWOS measured a gust of 62 mph the morning on the 23nd before increasing to 66 mph later that morning. Strong winds continued before tapering off by the afternoon of the 25th.
Holy Cross measured 51 mph the evening of the 23rd. Strong winds continued in the area before tapering off the afternoon of the 25th.
Golovin AWOS reported a 62 mph wind gust and was the peak for the event the morning of the 23rd. Winds continued in the area before tapering off early afternoon on the 25th.
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, December 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: 1070343, 1070345, 1070346, 1070342.