Blizzard in St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Steady snowfall and persistent north winds of 35 mph gusting to near 50 mph at PAGM (Gambell) resulted in several hours visibilities dropping to or below 1/4 mile from the early afternoon hours of November 19th into the early morning hours of November 20th before the visibility finally began to improve.

A persistent upper trough lingered over the Bering Sea for several days during the middle part of November. As a result, a series of surface lows tracked north along the west coast of Alaska bringing periods of heavy snowfall and very strong winds, especially along the coast and over the northern Bering Sea and Bering Strait. Blizzard conditions resulted in some spots near the coast while very heavy snowfall occurred across higher terrain just inland.