Blizzard — Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley, Alaska

2023-03-04 to 2023-03-06 · Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley, Alaska

Event narrative

Blizzard conditions developed on on the Baldwin Peninsula on the morning of the 4th and continued through the morning of the 6th. Winds gusted as high as 52 mph during the event. The strong winds caused a citywide power outage in Kotzebue, which subsequently caused the city's water system to fail. Significant drifting caused made travel in Kotzebue difficult for several days after the event.

Wider weather episode

A weather systems brought strong winds with periods of blizzard conditions as well as snow and freezing rain March 4th-8th 2023. An area of low pressure moving north through the Bering Sea along with an associated warm front, combined with strong high pressure over Interior Alaska initially brought blizzard conditions to the west coast. As temperatures warmed, snow eventually transitioned over to freezing rain in some locations, with strong winds persisting.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1090815. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.