Strong winds over northern Alaska combined with an Arctic airmass led to very cold wind chill values over the Arctic Coast and the Brooks Range.
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.
Strong winds over northern Alaska combined with an Arctic airmass led to very cold wind chill values over the Arctic Coast and the Brooks Range.
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 Feb 5, 2:35 PM AKST, 10 hours 25 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 235 PM AKST Sat Feb 5 2022 corrected Hazard information .SYNOPSIS...A mix of weather across the forecast area the next couple days with Wind Chill on the North Slope and in the Brooks Range, clearing skies from the northwest south of Norton Sound, and increasing chance of snow for the Interior south of the Yukon River tonight. Snowfall amounts will generally be less than 2 inches. Temperatures will be falling across the area as cold air out of the Arctic is pulled south and east into the state. && .DISCUSSION... Models...05/12Z solutions are in good agreement in the near term, but they start diverging late in the short term. Solutions are now pushing the cold air south, after waffling around a bit the last few days, so cooling temperatures across the area into midweek. Will be using a blend of the solutions for precipitation with a strong lean toward the SREF. Temperatures will not be changed too much, but we will lower the high temperatures as the diurnal changes will generally be only 5 to 10 degrees. For the low temperatures we used a blend, then pushed to colder areas to the Canadian which has performed better in those areas of late. Winds will be a blend of solutions with a nudge to the HiRes solutions in the short term. Aloft...At 500 hpa...Weak ridging holding over the southeast Interior as troughing digs southwest across the Arctic to the West Coast. A 492 dam low is 200 nm north of Banks Island with the trough axis extending southwest over Kotzebue this afternoon, then south to a 518 dam low over Cape Romanzof, then southwest to a 516 dam low just west of the Pribilofs. A 538 dam high is holding over Northern Siberia, and troughing remains south of the Aleutians. By Sunday afternoon troughing will persist over the state with a 489 dam low over Banks Island, a 493 dam low developing over the Upper Kobuk, and 512 dam low over the Pribilofs, as troughing continues to dig southwest. Weak ridging will continue to push northwest into the Central Interior. High remains nearly stationary over Siberia, and troughing persists south of the Aleutians. Monday afternoon the trough will persist with a low over Banks Island merging with a 477 dam low over the Canadian Archipelago and the trough extending southwest to a 500 dam low over Kaktovik, to a 492 dam low over Cape Romanzof and southwest over Adak. High over Siberia is stationary, and weak ridging continues to push northwest into the Central Interior with southwest flow south of the Brooks Range. At 850 hpa...Cold air from over the North Pole is being pulled south as the upper level trough digs southwest across the state, so temperatures will trend down with the -20C isotherm being pushed south of the Alaska Range by Monday morning. Surface...A narrow warm front is moving east across the Arctic, but a strong cold front is following close behind it, so temperatures will rise for a while this evening, but then trend down as breaks develop in the clouds. A 1010 mb high is 600 nm north of Demarcation Point. A 1002 mb low has moved into the Central Beaufort Sea and will move south through Sunday afternoon before merging with low pressure over the southern Northwest Territories. High pressure over the Central Yukon Territory extends northwest over the Upper Yukon Flats, then west over the Brooks Range to a 1031 mb high in Chukotka. A decaying front lies roughly along the Yukon River. A 977 mb low is moving out of the North Pacific and is 200 nm south of Kodiak City with a warm front extending northeast into the southern Gulf of Alaska, then southeast to Sitka. Troughing extends west into the southern Bering Sea to a 995 mb low southwest of the Pribilofs, to a 982 mb low west of Attu. Sunday afternoon a 1034 mb high will be 200 nm north of Wrangel Island with high pressure pushing east across the Arctic, southeast into the Arctic Plain, and south over the Chukotsk Peninsula and Northeast Bering Sea. The low near Kodiak will move into the Northern Gulf of Alaska near Cordova at 978 mb. The associated front will move into the southern Interior south of the Yukon River. Troughing will persist over the Aleutians. Arctic Coast and Brooks Range...A short lived warm up is coming to a rapid end as a cold front moves through the area and temperatures are starting to fall back to the cold they saw most of last week. Wind Chill will be an issue as winds pick up along the coast, mainly east of Utqiagvik, and in the Brooks Range passes. Snow with the front will be tapering off and expect some clearing. From Utqiagvik west winds north to northeast at 5 to 15 mph, while to the east of Utqiagvik winds will be west to northwest at 5 to 25 mph with the strongest winds east of Deadhorse. Lows tonight will range from the teens below to the 30s below with the coldest temperatures in the plains. Highs Sunday range from single digits below west of Point Lay to the 20s and 30s below for the remainder of the area. West Coast and Western Interior...Strong windy conditions through the Bering Strait will continue, but weaken a bit Sunday before picking back up Monday afternoon. The decaying front is in Norton Sound and will be pushed south and east as the cold air to the north pushes into the area. Snowfall will be mainly southeast of Anvik with generally less than one inch of snow accumulation. Skies will be clearing as the front moves southeast tonight. Winds through the Bering Strait and on St Lawrence Island north to northeast at 20 to 35 mph gusting near 50 mph this evening, diminishing to 15 to 25 mph gusting around 35 mph Sunday. The remainder of the area will have north winds 5 to 15 mph with the strongest winds along the coast. Winds will increase Sunday evening in the Chukchi Sea and through the Bering Strait. Lows tonight will range from single digits below in the Lower Yukon Delta to the teens below on the Chukchi Sea Coast to the 20s and 30s below in inland areas. Highs Sunday will not rebound much with temperatures only 5 to 10 degrees warmer than the overnight lows. Central and Eastern Interior...Cloudy with some light snow developing as a decaying front moves across the Alaska Range into the area south of the Yukon River. Snowfall overnight will taper off by Sunday afternoon in the Fairbanks area, but snowfall will pick up in the Southeast Interior. Snow accumulation generally less than 2 inches. North of the Yukon River skies will remain mostly clear, with clearing skies from the northwest Sunday for the remainder of the area along with falling temperatures. Gusty winds to 40 mph around Delta Junction and south to the Alaska Range will diminish through the evening. Winds across the remainder of the area will be variable to 10 mph. Winds will be picking up on the Summits along the Steese and Elliott Highways Monday evening. Low temperatures tonight will range from the single digits below in the Tanana Valley and Alaska Range to 20s to 30s below from the Yukon Valley north. High temperatures on Sunday will only be 5 to 10 degrees warmer that the overnight lows as cold air pushes southeast into the area. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None. Extended forecast for days 4 to 7...Warmer with chances of snow to in the eastern half of the Interior, while a deep pool of cold air will hold on over the West Coast until the end of the week. In the Arctic a gradual warm up will occur. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ213. Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ210. Wind Chill Warning for AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ206-AKZ218. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ245. && SDB FEB 22
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 927 PM AKST Sat Feb 5 2022 AKZ220>222-225-062100- Yukon Flats and Surrounding Uplands-Central Interior- Middle Tanana Valley-Denali- Including Fort Yukon, Venetie, Central, Circle, Stevens Village, Beaver, Chalkyitsik, Birch Creek, Circle Hot Springs, Eagle Summit, Twelvemile Summit, Nenana, Anderson, Tanana, Minto, Manley Hot Springs, Rampart, Lake Minchumina, Livengood, Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, Eielson AFB, Ester, North Pole, Moose Creek, Two Rivers, Fox, Chatanika, Chena Hot Springs, Sourdough Camp, Healy, Denali National Park, Carlo Creek, and Kantishna 927 PM AKST Sat Feb 5 2022 ...Snow Continuing Into Sunday... Light snow is falling from Eagle Summit to Fairbanks to Nenana, and will continue through Sunday afternoon. Snow will spread south over Denali Park and Eielson Air Force Base later tonight. A storm total of 2 to 4 inches is expected by the time the snow tapers off Sunday afternoon. Fairbanks had 1.4 inches of snow between 3pm and 9pm Saturday. Another 2 inches of snow is expected in Fairbanks by noon Sunday. JB
2 cold/wind chill, 1 astronomical low tide. Local standard time, as filed.
The Atigun Pass DOT mesonet station reported wind chill of -60 to -70 degrees F for a period of nearly 36 hours.
Barter Island reported wind chill values as cold as -69 degrees Fahrenheit.
Kuparuk reported wind chill values as cold a -78 degrees Fahrenheit.
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, February 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: 1011881, 1011883, 1011882.