An area of low pressure in the southern Bering Sea brought blizzard conditions to the Yukon Delta.
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.
An area of low pressure in the southern Bering Sea brought blizzard conditions to the Yukon Delta.
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 Jan 21, 12:40 PM AKST, 15 hours earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
1240 PM AKST Sat Jan 21 2023
.SYNOPSIS...
Winter weather is ongoing as an arctic low shifts east into the
Interior. Light snow is falling over the Eastern Interior and will
shift north through over the Brooks Range and most of the North
Slope east of Utqiagvik. Cold arctic high pressure settles over
the Mainland. The next storm will bring snow to the Interior and
Alaska Range as well as strong offshore northeast winds to the
West Coast for the latter half of the weekend. Unsettled weather
continues into the next week.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Upper Levels and Analysis...
There is a 505 dam arctic low centered over the Lisburne Peninsula
with an associated trough axis extending southeast into the Gulf
of Alaska. There is a shortwave ridge ahead of the trough over the
Eastern Interior with snow falling ahead of the trough. A sharp
ridge axis is building over the Eastern Bering Sea. A surface
trough along the arctic boundary is stationed near Point Barrow
and is moving east. A sharp arctic boundary is moving east through
the Interior. Strong northwest winds have made it all the way to
Northway and Tok. Behind the arctic boundary 850 hpa temps are as
cold as -30C. Temps and wind chills along the coast are already
reflecting the bitterly cold air, with wind chills into the -40F
range.
Model Discussion...
The models are in excellent agreement synoptically. Little
uncertainty exists as the arctic low shifts east, stalls, then
retrogrades west. However, uncertainty with details of the
placement of the arctic boundary remain high as the ECMWF and
Canadian are farther west with heavier snowfall, with the GFS
being the lone outlier farther east. We will toss the GFS and
favor a blended approach and a slightly farther west scenario
which means snow will shift from the Eastern to Central Interior
through Tuesday.
Central and Eastern Interior...
Snowfall will come to an end this evening as the upper arctic low
shifts east. West winds will diminish and colder high pressure
will settle in with colder temps persisting into Monday. More snow
develops as the upper ridge rebuilds and spreads Gulf of AK
moisture northward. Snowfall will be light but should impact most
of the Eastern Interior Monday including Fairbanks. Eventually the
snow will move into the Central Interior and Yukon Flats, with
south flow downsloping most of the Eastern Interior and Tanana
Valley. Expecting a widespread area of 1-3" of snowfall since the
snow band does look to "spread the wealth" around. With the
increased southerly flow, expecting healthy AK Range gap winds
possibly gusting into the 50 mph range Monday night and Tuesday.
Northeast winds also increase over the Interior summits Sunday
night and Monday, so colder wind chills with additional local
blowing and drifting snowfall is likely.
West Coast and Western Interior...
Cold temps and strong northeast develop tonight and persist
through Tuesday. This will keep the region dry and cold, with wind
chills dropping into the -55F range. Gusts will approach 60 mph
over Saint lawrence Island so blowing and drifting is likely, as
well. The lone exception to the dry weather will be near McGrath
where accumulating snow develops along the arctic front Monday
and persist into Tuesday, where several inches of snowfall is
possible.
North Slope and Brooks Range...
The arctic boundary is near Utqiagvik and quickly shifts east
this evening along with continued light snowfall. Blowing and
drifting will increase east of Prudhoe Bay where the strongest
westerly pressure gradient will be observed. Thus the winter
weather advisory will remain in effect. The long duration snowfall
will continue on and off through Monday then increase in intensity
again Tuesday as south flow brings moisture from the south. By
Tuesday evening 2-4 inches of snowfall is possible over the
eastern arctic where the heaviest snow will be located.
Extended Forecast Days 4-7...
Wednesday the arctic low will be located over the Western
Interior with snow over the Central/Western Interior and southerly
warmer flow over the Eastern Interior. The arctic trough
eventually weakens and moves north or east, depending on which
global models you believe. Light snow will move east and north
with it, and this will open the floodgates to the raging North
Pacific storm track. All models set their sights on the N bering
Sea and West Coast for a series of storm to move in from the
south. This means warmer and stormier and active weather, with the
active weather eventually moving inland late next week.
Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None.
&&
.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AK...Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ207-211.
Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ212>216.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ218.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ219.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ220.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ221>223-225-226.
Winter Storm Warning for AKZ224.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ204.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ206.
Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ209.
Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ210.
PK...Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ200.
Gale Warning for PKZ201-210.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ220.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ245.
&&1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard conditions developed in the Yukon Delta early in the morning on the 22nd and continue into the early morning hours on the 23rd. Cape Romanzof saw wind gusts as high as 93 mph during this event, while Chevak saw gusts as high as 63 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2023
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: 1079326.