Blizzard in Alaska, December 26, 2003

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, December 26, 2003
Start: 2003-12-26T14:55
End: 2003-12-26T21:36
Location: Alaska

December 26, 2003 · NWS AFG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Blizzard conditions were reported at:Zone 213: Savoonga; near-blizzard at GambellZone 214: Cape Romanzof.

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 AFG wrote it up.

A 958 mb low pressure center moved slowly north over the western Bering Sea and the associated weather front moved northeast creating blizzard conditions along the outer west coast of Alaska.Blizzard conditions were reported at:Zone 213: Savoonga; near-blizzard at GambellZone 214: Cape Romanzof.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 26, 2:30 PM AST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 26, 2:30 PM AST, 25 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 PM AST FRI DEC 26 2003

.DISCUSSION...A WEAK UPPER TROUGH LIES OVER THE NORTHEASTERN INTERIOR,
A SHARPENING UPPER RIDGE IS OVER THE W COAST AND N TO THE NWRN ARCTIC
COAST, AND A WEAKENING OCCLUDED FRONTAL SYSTEM IS OVER THE CENTRAL
BERING, LIFTING NNE. THIS FRONT STEMS FROM A 959 MB LOW CURRENTLY NEAR
60N/175E.

MODELS IN DECENT AGREEMENT THROUGH 60 HOURS ON MAIN FEATURES/OVERALL
TREND. THE UPPER RIDGE OVER THE WEST COAST WILL VERY SLOWLY SHIFT E
TONIGHT THROUGH SUN. BECAUSE OF ITS SLOW PROGRESSION, FIRST OCCLUSION
MENTIONED ABOVE WILL WEAKEN RAPIDLY TONIGHT AND SAT AS IT MOVES INTO
THE RIDGE, DISSOLVING ENTIRELY OVER WRN INTERIOR SAT NIGHT AS IT IS
OVER-TAKEN BY THE NEXT SYSTEM, WHOSE VERTICALLY STACKED LOW IS FORECAST
TO TAKE A SIMILAR TRACK TO THE FIRST. THIS SECOND FRONT FORECAST TO
HOLD TOGETHER MORE AND DELIVER MORE MOISTURE/ENERGY/PRECIP. TO THE
W COAST AND WRN INTERIOR SUN. ANOTHER LOW, FORECAST TO DEVELOP FROM A
WAVE ON THE PREVIOUS FRONTAL SYSTEM, IS FORECAST TO SWING NE FROM THE
N PACIFIC AND OVER BRISTOL BAY SUN NIGHT. THIS WILL PUSH A STRONG
WARM FRONT N OVER AND ACROSS THE AK RANGE, USHERING IN CHINOOK FLOW/
WARMER AIR FOR THE INTERIOR SUN NIGHT AND MON. AT LEAST ADVISORY
STRENGTH, OR GREATER, CHINOOK EVENT LIKELY FOR AK RANGE/N SLOPES
SUN NIGHT AND MON. VERT STACKED LOW WITH THIS SYSTEM FORECAST TO
MOVE E INTO GULF AK MON NIGHT/TUE, WHICH WOULD PUSH MODIFIED ARCTIC
FRONT ACROSS INTERIOR THEN, FOR SOME COOLING AND A PERIOD OF SNOW.

N SLOPE: MAIN STORY HERE TO BE INCREASING E WINDS AND BLOWING SNOW
AS LOWS OVER BERING TIGHTEN UP SURFACE PRESSURE GRADIENTS. ADVISORY
STRENGTH WINDS TONIGHT ZONE 201, W OF PPIZ. THESE WINDS WILL BE
SPREADING E SAT AND SAT NIGHT, AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SUN AND
LIKELY ON THROUGH AT LEAST TUE/WED. SNOWFALL WILL BE CONFINED MAINLY
W OF PABR THROUGH MON.

W COAST: FIRST FRONT WILL ONLY BRING SNOWFALL AS FAR N AS PATC BY
SAT, AND ONLY LIGHT AMOUNTS IN GENERAL. BLIZZARD WARNING STILL OK
FOR 213 AND 214/PACZ, SHOULD BE ABLE TO END IT SAT AS WINDS EASE
UP A LITTLE AND -SN ENDS. COULD SEE WIDESPREAD NEAR-BLIZ CONDITIONS
SAT NIGHT/SUN SEWARD PEN. S FROM NEXT SYSTEM, BUT WARMER TEMPS. WILL
HELP KEEP CONDITIONS UP A BIT. ANOTHER SHOT OF SNOW/WIND SUN NIGHT
AND MON FROM BRISTOL BAY LOW COULD BRING HEAVY SNOW TO NULATO HILLS
ZONES 212/215, AND UPLANDS IN GENERAL WRN INTERIOR.

INTERIOR: CLEARING TONIGHT CENTRAL INTERIOR TO SPREAD E SAT. ALTHOUGH
SOME WARMING ALOFT WITH UPPER HIGH, CLEARING SHOULD ALLOW WIDESPREAD
LOWLAND TEMPS OF -25 TO -40 TONIGHT WITH ONLY MODEST RECOVERY SAT.
SLIGHT WARMING SAT NIGHT/SUN AS LIGHT ERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW WILL HELP
BALANCE RADIATIVE LOSSES. INCREASING TANANA VALLEY JET FLOW SUN, THEN
CHINOOK PATTERN SUN NIGHT AND MON WILL BRING SUBSTANTIAL WARMING.
SNOW LIKELY BY MON FOR S SLOPES BROOKS, COULD BE FAIRLY HEAVY WITH
STRONG S FLOW AND ABUNDANT BERING/N PACIFIC MOISTURE FEED.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...BLIZZARD WARNING TONIGHT ZONES 213 AND 214 NEAR PACZ
         WIND ADVISORIES ZONES 201 S OF PPIZ AND 212/214 TONIGHT/SAT
MARINE...STORM AREA 14...AREA 9B SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND WATERS.
         GALE REMAINDER AREA 9B
         BWA AREAS 9A...10 A/B...11A SOUTH OF ICY CAPE.

MAR DEC 03

Event by event

2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Yukon Delta

When: December 26, 2:55 PM AST to 7:55 PM AST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: December 26, 3:16 PM AST to 9:36 PM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Blizzard: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, December 2003

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: 5336643, 5336642.