Winter Weather — Pribilof Islands, Alaska

2023-01-21 to 2023-01-23 · Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Event narrative

Saint George AWOS began to report 1/2 mile snow and blowing snow at 12:30 AKST 1/23 continuing through about 4 PM with sustained northeast winds between 35 and 40 mph. Conditions persisted for many hours, eventually improving above 1 mile visibility late on the evening of 1/23.

Wider weather episode

A strong front lifted north across the Aleutians and into the Bering Sea between 1/21 and 1/23, producing numerous impacts ranging from strong winds up to 86 mph across the eastern Aleutians to snow and blowing snow farther north across the Pribilof Islands and Kuskokwim Delta. This front was able to interact favorably with Arctic air entrenched farther north across much of western Alaska and the northern Bering, facilitating a tight temperature and pressure gradient that helped to drive the strong winds and snow/blowing snow observed with this system as it progressed north.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1099817. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.