A 1053 mb ridge of high pressure over the Beaufort Sea combined with a 984 mb low near the Bering Strait brought strong winds and blizzard conditions to the North Slope of Alaska.
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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 1053 mb ridge of high pressure over the Beaufort Sea combined with a 984 mb low near the Bering Strait brought strong winds and blizzard conditions to the North Slope of Alaska.
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 12, 7:06 AM AKST, 6 hours 49 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
706 AM AKST Fri Jan 12 2024
.SYNOPSIS...
High pressure over NW Canada combined with a series of storms
moving north along the West Coast though this weekend are causing
active weather over Northern AK.
Blizzard conditions, high winds and snow and freezing rain along
the West Coast and SW Interior will wind down today, but more snow
and freezing rain will return to the Western Alaska from the
Bering Strait south tonight and Sat. The Yukon Delta is now warm
enough that precipitation will be mainly rain and snow. Winds
with the next storm tonight and Sat along the West Coast will be
less than the current storm and in the 30 to 45 mph range.
East winds 25 to 35 mph along the Arctic Coast from Utqiagvik
will increase through tonight with gusts to 70 mph near Barter
Island from midnight tonight through Sun AM, gusts 60 mph near
Prudhoe Bay from midnight tonight through Sun AM, and gusts to 50
mph near Utqiagvik from midnight tonight through Sun AM. This will
bring blowing snow with low visibility near Utqiagvik tonight
through Sun, with blizzard or near blizzard conditions from
Prudhoe Bay west late tonight through Sun.
East winds over the Interior will decrease today.
For Sat night expect a chance of snow over the Southeast
Interior, with snow likely over the SW AK S of McGrath to the
Bering Strait, and for Sun expect a chance of snow from the Brooks
Range south with snow mores likely over Western AK. Snow
spreading northeast of the Southern Interior and
Temperatures are far above normal over the West Coast and Western
North Slope today that will continue into Sat, while the Western
and Central Interior and the North Slope are warmer than normal,
and the Eastern Interior is near normal with below normal
conditions near the ALCAN Border. Temperatures in most areas will
fall Sat night and Sun. Most of Northern AK will be warmer than
normal next week.
A storm approaching the West Coast next week will bring stormy
conditions to Western AK Mon and Tue, which might spread to
the Eastern Interior and North Slope Tue.
Aloft...
The long wave pattern consists of a strong ridge over the Eastern
Pacific north over AK to the North Pole with a deep trough over
Western Canada and another deep trough over Eastern Russia the
Western Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk. This long wave pattern
persists into Sat AM, then start to break down Sat PM into Sun as
a strong short wave moves from NW Canada west across Northern AK.
A series of strong short wave troughs will move north over the
West Coast through Sat. This will keep snow and mixed precip
occuring along the West Coast and SW Interior into Fri, with
precip continuing along the West Coast and SW Interior from the
Seward Pen south Fri night into Sat.
The strong short wave moving west across Northern AK Sat PM into
Sun will bring a chance of snow to most of the Interior Sat PM
into Sun.
850 mb temperatures are above freezing along the Central and
Western Interior and North Slope with near surface temperatures at
or above freezing along the West Coast an over the Western North
Slope. These temperatures will cool slightly today, then move back
north over SW Alaska north to the Bering Strait and McGrath
tonight and Sat. This will bring the chance of mixed rain, snow
and freezing rain to all of the West Coast, and parts of Western
Interior and Western North Slope today into Sat, with mixed precip
most likely south of Shageluk to Nome to the Bering Strait and
actual rain likely SW of Holy Cross.
Surface...
A low pressure trough over the North Slope of Alaska will
strengthen today through Sat. A 1045 mb high over NW Canada with a
ridge over the Beaufort Sea will weaken over NW Canada but
strengthen over the Beaufort Sea Fri night and Sat. These are
combining to cause strong winds over the Interior and Brooks Range
that will decrease today. These are also causing east winds over
the North Slope that will increase today then max out late tonight
into Sun AM.
A 980 mb low 200 NM southwest of Gambell will weaken in place
through tonight. A 985 mb triple point low low 200 NM west of
Point Hope will move to Wrangel Is as a 994 mb low bu 3pm Fri,
then continue northwest. A weather front from the triple point
low south along the West Coast of Alaska will persist into Sat. A
strong low developing south of the Eastern Aleutians today will
move into the Southeast Bering Sea on Sat and to the Seward Pen as
a 996 mb low by 3pm Sat.
A storm approaching the West Coast next week will bring stormy
conditions to Western AK Mon and Tue, which might spread to
the Eastern Interior and North Slope Tue.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Models initialize well aloft at 00Z and show similar solutions
aloft through 3pm Sat, with slight differences in strength and
timing of short wave troughs after that time. Will use a blend of
models for features aloft through Sun.
With precipitation, models show similar patterns through Sat,
with general trend similar through Sun. Will use a blend of models
for precipitation through Sun. The highlights will be:
Mixed snow, freezing rain and ice pellets along the West Coast and
far Western Interior will taper off north of the Seward Pen this
afternoon, then intensify over the SW Interior,the YK Delta, the
Southern Seward Pen and St Lawrence Is tonight and Sat. Precip
will fall as snow with a chance of freezing rain to all of the
West Coast, and parts of Western Interior and Western North Slope
today into Sat, with mixed precip most likely south of Shageluk to
Nome to the Bering Strait and actual rain likely SW of Holy
Cross. Expect another 2-4 inches and 0.25 inch of ice W of Anvik
through Sat, another 2-4 inches of snow and a trace of ice SW of
Holy Cross through Sat where much precip will fall as rain and wet
snow, and 4-8 inches of snow from Golovin to the Bering Strait
with one tenth of an inch of ice, and 4 inches of snow at St
Lawrence Is. For Sat night expect a chance of snow over the
Southeast Interior, with snow likely over the SW AK S of McGrath
to the Bering Strait, and for Sun expect a chance of snow from the
Brooks Range south with snow mores likely over Western AK.
At the surface at 06Z, models initialize well on most features
except that the triple point low in the Chukchi Sea was 2-4 mb
deeper than models sea is . Models show similar solutions at the
surface through 3pm Sat, then differ some on strength of surface
low at it track north over the West Coast. Will use the NAM for
winds but bump up winds 3-5 kt over the coast from the Bering
Strait to Barter Island through today to account for the deeper
triple point low (Winds are stronger in this area now due to this
feature). Highlights are:
South winds gusting 60 mph near Healy and east winds near Delta
Junction decreasing this morning. East winds 25 to 35 mph along
the Arctic Coast increasing through tonight with gusts to 70 mph
near Barter Island from Midnight tonight through Sun AM, with
gusts 60 mph near Prudhoe Bay from Midnight tonight through Sun
AM. and gusts to 50 mph near Utqiagvik from midnight tonight
through Sun AM. Southeast gale force winds with gusts 50-60 mph
along much of the West Coast decreasing from Norton Sound south
this afternoon, and north of the Bering Strait late tonight.
Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None
&&
.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AK...Winter Storm Warning for AKZ801.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ814-816-818.
High Wind Warning for AKZ815-817-847.
Winter Storm Warning for AKZ820>823-827-830.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ803.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ824>826.
Winter Storm Warning for AKZ804.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ832.
Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ835.
Wind Advisory for AKZ837-839-845.
Winter Storm Warning for AKZ805.
Winter Storm Warning for AKZ808.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ809.
PK...Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ801.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ802-812-850-853-858.
Gale Warning for PKZ803-804.
Gale Warning for PKZ805.
Gale Warning for PKZ806-854.
Gale Warning for PKZ807>810-855-856.
Gale Warning for PKZ811-852-857.
Gale Warning for PKZ813.
Storm Warning for PKZ814-815-860-861.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ815.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ816.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ817.
Gale Warning for PKZ859.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard conditions developed the afternoon of the 12th and continued through the morning of the 14th. Barter Island reported wind gusts as high as 70 mph, while Point Thomson reported gusts as high as 60 mph during this event.
Blizzard conditions developed at Atqasuk on the morning of the 13th and continued into the afternoon of that day. Atqasuk reported a peak wind gust of 54 mph during the event.
Winds picked up the blizzard conditions developed at Deadhorse the morning of the 13th and continued through the evening of the 13th. During this event, the winds gusted as high as 66 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2024
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: 1159666, 1160605, 1159665.