Blizzard — Bering Strait Coast, Alaska

2026-01-26 · Bering Strait Coast, Alaska

Event narrative

Shortly after midnight the Brevig Mission AWOS (PFKT) began reporting blizzard conditions. Wind gusted to between 45 and 55 mph. This combined with light snowfall and blowing snow to reduce the visibility to 1/4 mile or lower for several hours. While the visibility improved to between 1/2 mile and 1 mile as the day wore on, the strong winds continued to produce blowing snowfall through most of the day.

Wider weather episode

A deep upper-level low over the Eastern Arctic tracked southwest toward the Bering Strait during the last week of January. This system pushed a cold front across the region, producing very strong winds along and immediately behind the boundary. These winds triggered initial blizzard conditions along the Northwest Arctic coast, which then spread westward toward the western Seward Peninsula.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1313560. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.