Heavy Snow in Upper Kobuk and Noatak Vlys, Alaska

The combination of a strong 1050 mb high across the southern interior of Alaska and a 992 mb that passed about 400 miles north of Barrow on the afternoon of the 17th produced strong winds, heavy snow, and blizzard conditions across parts of Northwest Alaska on the 17th. Here are some of the reports that were received:

Zone 207: strong winds occurred at Kivalina during the morning and afternoon hours on the 17th. The Kivalina Fire Chief reported 2 inches of snow with blowing snow and small drifts. It did not appear that there were blizzard conditions, but there was a report that a Ham Radio antenna was damaged as a result of the strong wind. A peak wind gust of 43 kt (49 mph) was observed at the Kivalina ASOS.

Zone 208: Blizzard conditions were observed at Red Dog mine during the day on the 17th and the white-out conditions caused the mine to shut down operations during the day. The blizzard conditions began sometime prior to 6 am and they continued into the evening hours.

Zone 217: Heavy snow was observed at Kobuk on the 17th that continued into the 18th. A trained weather observer in Kobuk measured a total of 18.6 inches of snow.