Extreme Cold/Wind Chill — N. Brooks Rng Colville Rvr W, Alaska

2009-03-15 to 2009-03-17 · N. Brooks Rng Colville Rvr W, Alaska

Wider weather episode

A strong ridge of high pressure well off the Arctic Coast on the 14th gradually built into the Chukchi Sea by the 17th. The ridge of high pressure produced an unseasonably cold air mass across much of northern Alaska. During this time, a large complex of low pressure was in the Gulf of Alaska. A strong difference in pressure between the high and low produced strong wind across much of northern Alaska and led to extremely low wind chills.

Zone 201: Temperatures of 30 to 35 below zero combined with a northeast wind of around 20 mph to produce wind chills as low as 67 below zero at the Point Lay AWOS during the morning hours on the 14th.

Zone 204: Temperatures of 30 to 35 below zero combined with a west wind of around 15 mph to produce wind chills as low as 61 below zero at the Barter Island AWOS during the late evening hours on the 15th into the early morning hours on the 16th.

Zone 205: Temperatures of 25 to 35 below zero combined with a northeast wind of 20 to 30 mph to produce wind chills as low as 70 below at the Anaktuvuk Pass AWOS from the early morning hours on the 15th through the morning hours on the 17th. Similar wind chills were likely observed in passes and across the higher elevations of the northwestern Brooks Range.

Zone 206: Temperatures of 25 to 35 below zero combined with a northeast wind of 20 to 30 mph to produce wind chills as low as 70 below at the Anaktuvuk Pass AWOS from the early morning hours on the 15th through the early morning hours on the 18th. At the Atigun Pass SNOTEL, temperatures as low as 46 below combined with a northeast wind of around 20 mph to produce wind chills as low as 82 below. The lowest wind chills at Atigun Pass were observed during the early morning hours on the 15th through the early afternoon hours on the 16th.

Zone 218: Temperatures of 25 to 30 below zero combined with a northeast wind of 20 to 25 mph to produce wind chills as low as 63 below at the Helmut Mountain RAWS. The lowest wind chills were observed from the late evening hours on the 15th through the morning hours on the 16th.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 153164. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.