Blizzard — N. Brooks Rng Colville Rvr W, Alaska

2009-03-01 · N. Brooks Rng Colville Rvr W, Alaska

Wider weather episode

Event continued from February. A 976 mb low near the northern Kamchatka Peninsula on the afternoon of February 26th tracked across the Chukotsk Peninsula during the afternoon of the 27th, and into the southern Chukchi Sea on the evening the 27th as a 983 mb low. The low then tracked northeast across the Arctic Ocean on the 28th and northeast across the Beaufort Sea on March 1st. The storm brought blizzard conditions to much of the arctic coast which continued into the morning hours of the 1st in zones 201, 202 and 205..and through the afternoon of the 1st in zone 203.

Zone 201: Blizzard conditions were observed from the early morning hours on the 28th (February) through the late morning hours of the 1st. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter mile or less at Point Lay in snow and blowing snow. The Point Lay AWOS had a peak wind gust of 54 mph/47kt. similar conditions were also observed at Atqasuk and Wainwright. The Atqasuk AWSS had a peak wind gust to 53 mph/46kt, and the Wainwright ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 52 mph/45kt.

Zone 202: Blizzard conditions were observed at Barrow during the afternoon and evening hours on the 28th (February). The blizzard conditions continued into the morning of the 1st. The visibility was frequently reduced to one quarter of a mile and the Barrow ASOS had a peak wind gust of 48 mph/42kt.

Zone 203: Blizzard conditions were observed at Deadhorse, Kuparuk, and Nuiqsut during the morning and afternoon hours on the 1st. The visibility was frequently reduced to one-quarter mile or less in snow and blowing snow. The wind gusted as high as 41 mph/36kt at the Kuparuk SAWRS, and 52 mph/45kt at the Deadhorse ASOS.

Zone 205: Blizzard conditions likely occurred from about noon on the 27th (February) through the early morning hours on the 1st. This is based on conditions observed in passes of the northeastern Brooks Range (Anaktuvuk Pass) as well as the Kelly RAWS (KELA2) in zone 208. The Ikpikpuk automated stream gage (IKPA2) in zone 205 also reported sustained winds of up to 43 mph/37kt.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 149503. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.