Alaska, 2023

Blizzard in Alaska, October 20, 2023

October 20, 2023 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A front associated with a 988 mb low over the eastern Beaufort Sea moved over the Arctic Coast of Alaska Bringing strong winds, heavy snow and blizzard conditions.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.

A front associated with a 988 mb low over the eastern Beaufort Sea moved over the Arctic Coast of Alaska Bringing strong winds, heavy snow and blizzard conditions.

What forecasters said that day

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 Oct 19, 2:38 PM AKST, 22 hours 37 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 19, 2:38 PM AKST, 22 hours 37 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast

When
October 20, 1:15 PM AKST to 10:55 PM AKST
Where
Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
69.251, -152.001 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard conditions developed at Point Thomson the afternoon of the 20th. Wind gusts as high as 47 mph were reported by the automated weather station. By late evening, the visibility improved as the rate of snow decreased. Strong winds continued into the morning of the 20th.

What these are

Blizzard
Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, October 2023

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1144694.