A strong area of high pressure over the Beaufort Sea combined with an area of low pressure over southern Alaska caused strong easterly wind that resulted in blizzard conditions over the Beaufort Sea 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 area of high pressure over the Beaufort Sea combined with an area of low pressure over southern Alaska caused strong easterly wind that resulted in blizzard conditions over the Beaufort Sea 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 Mar 24, 1:50 AM AKST, 4 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 250 AM AKDT Thu Mar 24 2022 .SYNOPSIS... Ongoing blizzard on the Eastern Arctic Coast will continue into this evening for the Deadhorse area and into Friday for areas to the east. Gusty winds continue to decrease over Interior Highway summits today. Limited areas of precipitation with mostly sunny skies over much of northern Alaska. Expect a slow climb to near normal and slightly above normal temperatures through the weekend and early next week. && .DISCUSSION... Aloft at 500 hpa...A 544 dam high pressure system currently centered 300nm northwest of Point Barrow will drift north and then east to be 546 dam by Sunday near 80N and 500nm north of Point Barrow. parked over the high arctic will the high Arctic. Southerly flow will develop over the Interior and the west coast through Friday. Ridging will continue over western Alaska into the weekend as the deep and cold longwave trough anchored by the low north and east of Banks Island digs south over Great Slave Lake and another upper level low anchors a trough over the Central Bering Sea. The strong ridge of high pressure along over Alaska will weaken again next week as another low pressure trough develops over Banks Island and digs south and west over Northern Alaska early next week. Surface...A 1042 mb high pressure system near Banks Island combined with a 990 mb low in the northern Gulf of Alaska continues to produce very strong winds and blizzard conditions over the Eastern Arctic Coast this morning. The strong winds will diminish some this evening near Deadhorse and will diminish on Friday near Point Thompson and Kaktovik. Low visibilities in blowing snow will improve as the winds diminish in these areas. Strong and gusty wind over the Interior Highway Summits continue to diminish through the day today. Expect mostly clear skies for much of Northern Alaska today and Friday before clouds push north into the area over the weekend. Arctic Coast and Brooks Range...Winter Weather Advisories for low visibilities in blowing snow and low wind chill values will continue to today and tonight before diminishing winds improve conditions. Areas along the Eastern Arctic Coast will continue to experience Blizzard condition into this evening for the Deadhorse area and into Friday for Kaktovik. Conditions will improve as winds diminish in these areas. Highs today will range from teens above in the Brooks Range to the single digits below on the Central and Eastern Arctic Coast. Lows tonight will be mainly in the teens below. West Coast and Western Interior...Northeast to east winds will continue today and tonight in the 15 to 25 mph gusting around 40 mph locally before diminishing on Friday. Highs today will range from the teens along the Chukchi Sea coast to the teens and 20s for areas to the south. Lows tonight range from the single digits below along the Chukchi Sea Coast to the single digits above and the teens in the Lower Yukon Delta. Central and Eastern Interior...Gusty northeast winds will continue to diminish this morning over the Interior highway summits. Expect mostly clear skies today and Friday before clouds and flurries return over the weekend. High temperatures today and on Friday will range from the 20s to upper 30s. Low temperatures tonight will range from the single digits and lower teens below to the single digits and teens above. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None. Extended forecast for days 4 to 7...High pressure will hold over the Arctic as low pressure over the mainland is reinforced by a low moving into the state from the southwest. Generally dry through the weekend then some light snow possible in the southern Interior as a decaying front moves into the area and drags east over the Alaska Range. Temperatures will generally be near or slightly above climatological normals for late March. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Blizzard Warning for AKZ203-AKZ204. Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ201-AKZ202-AKZ206. Gale Warning for PKZ240-PKZ245. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235. && CCC MAR 22
2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
The Barter Island AWOS reported gusts as high as 45 mph with visibility as low as a quarter mile for just over three hours.
The Deadhorse airport reported gusts to 35 mph with visibility less than one quarter mile for just over three hours.
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, March 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: 1017033, 1017032.