Blizzard — Alaska Peninsula, Alaska

2013-03-08 · Alaska Peninsula, Alaska

Event narrative

As the low moved into Bristol Bay the pressure gradient increased over the Alaska Peninsula and also ushered in colder air to the area. Snow and blowing snow in Cold Bay (PACD) dropped the visibility to 1/4 mile by mid morning on March 8th and this persisted until mid afternoon. West winds during this period were gusting between 43 and 49 mph.

There were no reports of damage or injuries.

Wider weather episode

On the afternoon of Wednesday, March 6th, there was a 960 mb low with occluded front centered about 400 miles south of Dutch Harbor. This low continued to strengthen some as it progressed northward reaching a peak of 954 mb just south of the Alaska Peninsula on the morning of March 7th. This storm then started to weaken as it moved into Bristol Bay and then inland on March 8th. This storm brought high winds to the Anchorage area as well as blizzard conditions to parts of Southwest Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 439917. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.