Winter Storm — Eastern Aleutians, Alaska

2013-03-01 · Eastern Aleutians, Alaska

Event narrative

When the occluded front approached the Dutch Harbor area during the late afternoon to early evening of March 1st the winds rapidly increased and visibility decreased in the snow and blowing snow. The visibility in snow and blowing snow ranged between 1/4 and 1/2 mile for 3 1/2 hours with winds gusting between 69 and 84 mph during that period. The peak of the event was around 6 PM when the peak Southeast wind gust was measured at 84 mph. The visibility was 1/4 mile at this time due to snow and blowing snow. Neither found or received any reports of damage or injuries.

Wider weather episode

A 989 mb low south of Attu the afternoon of February 28 moved eastward and rapidly deepened 25 mb overnight to 964 mb the morning of March 1. It then began to slow its forward movement and slowly weaken as it cut a path just south of the Aleutian Islands through the evening of March 2nd. This storm brought Blizzard conditions to parts of the Aleutians and northward to the Pribilof Islands.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 439167. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.