Blizzard — Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast, Alaska

2025-05-10 to 2025-05-11 · Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast, Alaska

Event narrative

The Barter Island AWOS (PABA) reported Blizzard conditions with wind gusts as high as 40 mph and several hours of visibilities at or below 1/4 mile in blowing snow. While the event persisted for just over 24 hours, there were a few observations of up to 1/2 mile visibility at times during the overnight hours.

Wider weather episode

A disturbance aloft crossed Alaska's Arctic coastline resulting in a widespread area of snow with totals of 1 to 3 inches along it's path. Strong westerly winds also developed at the same time with the strongest gradient producing much stronger winds along the northeast Arctic coastline. Where the winds and falling snow overlapped, blizzard conditions developed.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1266512. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.