Heavy Snow — Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly, Alaska

2009-02-18 to 2009-02-19 · Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly, Alaska

Wider weather episode

A 970 mb low in the central Bering Sea on the afternoon of the 17th tracked to the southern Chukchi Sea on the afternoon of the 18th, and then along the arctic coast on the 19th. This storm system brought heavy snow and blizzard conditions to much of northern Alaska. High winds were also observed in the passes of the Alaska Range.

Zone 207: Blizzard conditions were observed at Kivalina and Point Hope on the 18th. At the Kivalina ASOS the visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in heavy snow and blowing snow from late in the morning through late in the afternoon. An east to southeast wind of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 40 mph was observed. Similar conditions were observed at the Point Hope AWOS during the afternoon hours.

Zone 209: Blizzard conditions were observed at the Kotzebue Weather Service Office during the morning and afternoon hours of the 18th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter of a mile or less in heavy snow and blowing snow. An east wind of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to near 50 mph was observed during this event at the Kotzebue ASOS. The bodies of two men were found approximately 10 miles south of Kotzebue on the 18th. They were reported missing on the 13th, and likely died due to hypothermia.

Zone 210: Blizzard conditions were observed at Buckland during the morning and early afternoon hours of the 18th. The visibility at the Buckland AWOS was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. An east wind of 25 to 40 mph with gusts to near 50 mph was observed during this event.

Zone 211: Blizzard conditions were observed at times at the Nome WSO during the morning and early afternoon hours on the 18th. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile in snow and blowing snow. An east wind of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 40 mph was observed at the Nome ASOS.

Zone 212: Heavy snow likely occurred along the eastern Norton Sound and across the Nulato Hills. Thirteen inches of snow was observed at the Kaltag Coop in the Nulato Hills (zone 216), and it is likely that similar amounts were observed in the Nulato hills in zone 212. Seven inches or more of snow also likely fell along the eastern Norton Sound. Blizzard conditions were observed at Unalakleet during the morning and afternoon hours of the 18th. The visibility at the Unalakleet AWOS was frequently less than one quarter of a mile in snow and blowing snow. An east wind of 30 to 45 mph with gusts to 50 mph was observed at the Unalakleet AWOS during this event.

Zone 213: Blizzard conditions were observed at Gambell during the late evening of the 17th into the morning hours of the 18th. The visibility at the Gambell AWOS was frequently reduced to one quarter of a mile or less. An east wind of 35 to 50 mph with gusts as high as 59 mph were observed during this event. Blizzard conditions were also briefly observed at Savoonga during the early morning hours on the 18th.

Zone 214: Blizzard conditions were observed along the Yukon Delta coast during the early morning hours on the 18th. The wind gusted as high as 81 mph at the Cape Romanzof AWOS and the visibility was reduced to zero at times in snow and blowing snow. The visibility was also reduced to one quarter mile or less in heavy snow and blowing snow at Scammon Bay with gusts to 40 to 45 mph at the Scammon Bay AWSS. Inland, heavy snow was observed at Saint Marys and Mountain Village, however, the wind was not as strong as along the coast, and was generally in the 20 to 35 mph range.

Zone 215: Based on the observation of 13 inches of snow at the Kaltag Coop (zone 216), it is likely that 8 inches of snow fell in parts of lower Yukon Valley.

Zone 216: Heavy snow was observed at the Kaltag coop. Thirteen inches of snow was observed during this event at Kaltag.

Zone 217: Heavy snow and significant drifting snow was observed at Ambler during the morning hours on the 18th through the early morning hours on the 19th. There were public reports of up to 36 inches of snow at Ambler, with snow drifts of 15 to 20 feet. The visibility at the Ambler AWOS was frequently less than one mile, and occasionally as low as one quarter of a mile during this event.

Zone 218: Heavy snow was observed at the Wiseman Co-operative observer from late on the 18th through the morning of the 19th. A total of 16 inches of snow was observed from midnight until 1 pm at Wiseman during this event.

Zone 219: Heavy snow was observed at Bettles from the afternoon hours on the 18th through the morning hours on the 19th. A total of 16.3 inches of snow was observed at Bettles during this event.

Zone 220: Snow and strong winds were observed at Eagle Summit along the Steese Highway during the morning hours on the 19th. It was estimated from DOT reports that the wind was gusting over 45 mph with low visibilities with blowing and heavy drifting snow.

Zone 221: Heavy snow was observed at Tanana from the afternoon hours on the 18th through the morning hours on the 19th. A weather spotter in Tanana observed 12 inches of snow from this event.

Zone 225: Heavy snow was observed along the Parks Highway. The DOT reported 12 inches of snow at Milepost 215.8. In addition to the heavy snowfall, strong winds were observed in the passes, with a wind gust to 63kt/73 mph at the Antler Creek DOT site at milepost 244.

Zone 226: Up to 8 inches of snow was observed by a weather spotter from this storm. A wind gust to 63kt/73 mph was observed at Texas Condo, which is part of the Fort Greely mesonet.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 148263. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.