Blizzard — Matanuska Valley, Alaska

2023-11-19 to 2023-11-21 · Matanuska Valley, Alaska

Event narrative

Several webcams and photos sent in from social media showed ground blizzard conditions on roadways across the Matanuska Valley beginning close to 12 PM AKST 11/20 and lasting through much of the afternoon. Winds recorded by AWOS/ASOS stations in Wasilla and Palmer recorded peak gusts as high as 60 to 70 mph. The strong winds also caused many power outages, with up to 6,000 customers across the Matanuska Valley with no power at the height of the wind event.

Wider weather episode

A strong low pressure system moving up into the Gulf of Alaska was able to interact favorably with Arctic air and strong surface high pressure entrenched over Mainland Alaska to create a very strong northeast to southwest pressure gradient and very strong wind that channeled through gaps in terrain. The strongest winds were focused near and to the southwest of the pass between the Copper River Basin and Matanuska Valley, as well as through Thompson Pass and into Valdez. Recent rounds of snowfall were enough for these winds to resuspend fallen snow and create ground blizzard conditions in both locations. The winds gusting between 60 and 70 mph on 11/20 in the Matanuska Valley were also enough to knock out power to thousands of customers at the height of the wind storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1142434. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.