Blizzard — Pribilof Islands, Alaska

2013-02-17 to 2013-02-18 · Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Event narrative

The occluded front that was moving slowly through the Eastern Bering Sea from the south produced blizzard conditions on both St Paul and St George Island. St George reported the more severe conditions with 1/4 mile visibility in East winds sustained at 56 mph and gusting to 72 mph in the peak of the event. St George also experienced blizzard conditions for 13 hours. St Paul reported blizzard conditions for 5 hours with the most severe conditions being 1/4 mile visibility and East winds sustained at 45 mph and gusting to 60 mph. While there were no reported injuries and no reported damage, school was canceled for Monday, February 18. Government offices and the AC store were closed until noon that day due to snow drifts.

Wider weather episode

A triple point low south of the Central Aleutian Islands the afternoon of Sunday, February 17 rapidly strengthened as it moved northward into the Bering Sea. In 24 hours it deepened 30 mb from 988 mb Sunday afternoon to 958 mb on Monday afternoon. The occluded front associated with this low approached the Pribilof Islands and produced blizzard conditions. Aside from the Pribilof Islands, the brunt of this strong storm remained over the Bering Sea and did not move over land.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 435768. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.