Blizzard — Western Aleutians, Alaska

2013-02-09 · Western Aleutians, Alaska

Event narrative

The Shemya (PASY) ASOS reported five hours of borderline blizzard conditions with the peak of the storm producing 1/2 mile visibility in moderate snow driven by Northeast winds sustained at 39 MPH and gusting to 49 MPH. Given the lack of terrain on Shemya, and the distance from the Bering Sea to the ASOS being less than 2 miles, it reasons that nearby Attu Island with its much larger mass and significant terrain saw conditions much lower than at Shemya. However, the lack of any observations from Attu prevents confirmation of this. There were no reports of damage or injuries from this storm.

Wider weather episode

A strong occluded front associated with a mid-970s mb low approached the Western Aleutian Islands from the south. This set up strong winds and snow across the Western Aleutian Islands which resulted in a blizzard warning for that area. This low pressure system is a different storm system than the one producing winter storms over other parts of southern Alaska this same day.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 434805. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.