Heavy Snow in Southern Seward Peninsula Coast, Alaska

The Rocky Point SNOWTEL (RPTA2) reported a snow depth increase of 8 inches from late afternoon December 21 through mid morning December 22. During this time frame the Nome ASOS (PAOM) reported several hours of 1/4 mile visibility in heavy snow with winds gusting 30 to 35 mph. Local media outlets reported that Bering Air cancelled 26 flights in and out of Nome as of December 23.

A large upper ridge over the northern Pacific extended into the Bering Sea which set the stage for a series of fronts to top the ridge and affect Western and Interior Alaska with several waves of wintry weather. The first front approached the west coast of Alaska with strong winds and Blizzard conditions on the 21st of December. A more potent system came ashore the following day thanks to a strong eastward moving shortwave moving from eastern Siberia into the western interior of Alaska. This second system brought mainly heavy snowfall to western Alaska, but strong gusty winds were noted as well. Finally a third low and cold front moved into the interior as the previous system had flattened the upper ridge. This allowed for ample moisture to enter the Interior allowing for heavy snowfall across the central Interior December 24th and 25th.