An Arctic trough pushed into Southcentral Alaska on February 23, bringing cold air and windy conditions. Once the axis of the trough moved through the Southern Kenai Mountains by February 25, cold, dense air, created large pressure and temperature gradients and channeled strong winds through the region.
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.
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 AFC wrote it up.
An Arctic trough pushed into Southcentral Alaska on February 23, bringing cold air and windy conditions. Once the axis of the trough moved through the Southern Kenai Mountains by February 25, cold, dense air, created large pressure and temperature gradients and channeled strong winds through the region.
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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 25, 5:52 AM AKST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 552 AM AKST Wed Feb 25 2026 .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 through 3)... An Arctic trough and associated very cold temperatures will arrive about on schedule this morning. Northerly gap winds are expected to ramp up quickly this morning as the trough axis moves into Southcentral and then continues to drive south into the northern Gulf later today. Mostly dry conditions are expected with partly cloudy skies. Exceptions will be isolated pockets of the Copper River Basin, primarily along the higher elevation, who may see pockets of snow showers today. Additionally, the southern edge of the Kenai Peninsula from Seldovia to Nanwalek will see persistent snow showers through much of today, productions around 2 to 4 inches of new snow. Multiple Warnings/Advisories remain in effect, including: ** High Wind Warnings for Seward until midnight tonight. Northeast Kodiak Island including Kodiak City, and Thompson Pass until 9AM AKST Thursday. ** High Wind Advisory for Valdez until 9PM AKST this evening. ** Cold Weather Advisories for the Copper River Basin, upper Matanuska Valley, northern Susitna Valley, West Prince William Sound and Whittier, and Seward until 6PM AKST Thursday. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (Days 1 through 3)... Key Messages: *A Special Weather Statement has been issued for Adak and Atka from Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning for high winds and wet snowfall. *A Cold Weather Advisory has been issued for the lower Kuskokwim Valley and Kuskokwim Delta from midnight tonight through noon Thursday for wind chills as low as 50 below zero. The Arctic trough continues to move south through the state, with a dry and cold air mass accompanying it. Temperatures in the Southwest Mainland have already dropped to the negatives, with the Kuskokwim Delta and Lower Kuskokwim Valley reaching the negative teens. Mostly clear skies are prevalent over the mainland as well due to the drier air from the north. The Southwest Mainland will continue to be cold and dry through the week as the Arctic air mass remains. Low temperatures will drop to the negative 20s for the Kuskokwim regions and the negative teens for Bristol Bay Wednesday night through Friday night. Wind chills will breach the negative 40s in the Lower Kuskokwim Valley and maybe even the Kuskokwim Delta by Wednesday night. The Bering is a bit of a different story. Satellite reveals a large area of snow showers forming over the Bering due to instability created from the very cold air mass moving over the warmer waters. Snow showers spread from north of the Aleutians to the Pribilof Islands to Nunivak Island and the western coast of the Kuskokwim Delta. The top of a low in the North Pacific is rising up into the Western and Central Aleutians. By this afternoon, gusty gale force winds and precipitation in the form of snow or rain/snow depending on the location will impact the Western and Central Aleutians. The winds will strengthen and may reach storm force strength west of Adak by Thursday morning. As the low drifts eastward, snowfall will shift east as well, delivering a good amount of snow to Unalaska by Friday. Snow showers in the Bering, north of the Aleutians will continue through Friday as instability remains due to cold air advection. -JAR && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7 - Saturday through Tuesday)... A general pattern of troughing over mainland Alaska with ridging over the northeastern Pacific looks to continue through the middle of next week. This pattern favors cold temperatures and dry conditions to remain in place across Southwest and the interior parts of Southcentral. At times, wind chills may approach hazardous criteria, especially across the Copper River Basin. The most active weather this weekend will be over the Aleutians as low pressure approaches from the south. This maintains gusty winds and chances for precipitation through Sunday before the low rapidly weakens. Starting Monday, shortwaves will traverse over the North Pacific and Gulf of Alaska. This pattern will keep temperatures constant across the Aleutians and start a slow warming trend across Southwest and coastal Southcentral. With these waves staying over open water, the only chance for precipitation will be in the Aleutians, Kodiak Island, and coastal Southcentral. Models diverge on timing of these shortwaves. These details will become more clear in the coming days. PA && .AVIATION... PANC...VFR conditions will generally continue throughout the TAF period. A few snow flurries are possible over the next hour or two, with brief reductions in visibility possible before a return to mostly clear conditions later this morning. Gusty north winds will re- intensify later this morning, particularly between 18z this morning and 6z tonight. Gusts of 25 to 35 kts are likely during this timeframe. Stronger winds will slowly begin to weaken tonight into Thursday morning. &&
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT National Weather Service ANCHORAGE AK 531 AM AKST Wed Feb 25 2026 AKZ787-260215- Central Aleutians- Including the cities of Atka and Adak 531 AM AKST Wed Feb 25 2026 ...PERIOD OF HEAVY WET SNOW AND HIGH WINDS BEGINNING THIS AFTERNOON AND LASTING THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING... A strong front will stall across the Central Aleutians, including the cities of Adak and Atka, this afternoon with sustained winds of 40 to 45 mph, and increasing up to 55 mph through Thursday morning. Maximum wind gusts will occur Thursday morning with gusts as high as 60 to 65 mph. Accompanying the winds will be an axis of heavy precipitation, most likely in the form of heavy wet snow starting this afternoon, mixing with rain at times as temperatures remain steady in the mid 30s. Snowfall accumulations of 3 to 6 inches will be in store for Atka, while Adak may see lesser amounts due to more rain mixing in. Winds will then slowly diminish through Friday morning, though gusts up to 40 to 50 mph will linger into the first half of the weekend.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Seward ASOS (PAWD) recorded periods of wind gusts over 60 mph from 6:53 AM to 9:55 PM AKST on February 25.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 2026
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: 1319668.