Blizzard — Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast, Alaska

2026-01-27 to 2026-01-29 · Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast, Alaska

Event narrative

For the second consecutive day the Eastern Beaufort Sea coastline experienced blizzard conditions. The AWOS at Point Thomson (PAAD) began reporting wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph along with visibility reading of 1/4 mile or less. This trend continued for more than two full days resulting in a long duration blizzard that persisted for 55 hours before letting up.

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 1313566. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.