Heavy Snow and High Wind in Alaska, April 18 to 19, 2002

Name: Heavy Snow and High Wind in Alaska, April 18 to 19, 2002
Start: 2002-04-18T00:00
End: 2002-04-19T04:00
Location: Alaska

April 18 to 19, 2002 · NWS AFC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Wind gusts of 97 mph were reported at a remote upper elevation location known as Site Summit (near Alpenglow Ski area) around 9 am Thursday. 5 feet of new snow fell in roughly a 24 hour or less interval around Talkeetna, Chulitna and Swan Lake.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS AFC wrote it up.

A moderate frontal system, moving into South Central Alaska, caused locally strong southeast wind around the Anchorage Municipality and areas of heavy snow in the Susitna Valley.Wind gusts of 97 mph were reported at a remote upper elevation location known as Site Summit (near Alpenglow Ski area) around 9 am Thursday. Other reports of 69 mph gusts were received at Glen Alps, along the Upper Anchorage Hillside, late Thursday morning.In the Susitna Valley, 1 - 1.5 feet of new snow fell in roughly a 24 hour or less interval around Talkeetna, Chulitna and Swan Lake.

Event by event

1 heavy snow, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Susitna Valley

When: April 18, 12:00 AM AST to April 19, 4:00 AM AST
Where: Susitna Valley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: April 18, 5:00 AM AST to April 19, 4:00 AM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured: 84 kt (97 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, April 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5285457, 5285392.