Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 27 to 29, 2003

Name: Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 27 to 29, 2003
Start: 2003-12-27T20:16
End: 2003-12-29T18:36
Location: Alaska

December 27 to 29, 2003 · NWS AFC · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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 strong storm moved north through the Bering Sea Saturday December 27th. as the front approached the Bering Sea coast, strong wind and snow combined to produce blizzard conditions across the Kuskokwim Delta. this same front then created a strong pressure gradient across south central Alaska that resulted in wind gusts peaking around 89 mph in Portage Valley. Strong wind also occurred in the municipality of Anchorage with gusts measured at 91 mph along western Turnagain arm. Reports of minor damage were received from Eagle River and along the Anchorage Hillside consisting of damaged siding and antennas being blown away. The strong southeast flow also resulted in heavy snow along the Alaska Range in the Hayes River area where a spotter reported snow accumulations of 18 inches overnight Sunday into Monday morning.

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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 27, 12:00 PM AST, 8 hours 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 27, 12:00 PM AST, 8 hours 16 minutes before

SOUTH/SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1200 PM AST SAT DEC 27 2003

.DISCUSSION...MODEL APPEAR TO BE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT THROUGH THERE
SOME SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES. THE LOW COMING OUT OF THE NORTHWEST
PACIFIC IS ABOUT 8 MB DEEPER AT 60 HOURS ON THE GFS THAN THE ETA
MODEL AND GFS IS MOVING THE LOW A LITTLE FASTER THAN THE ETA. THERE
IS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE ON THE POSITION OF THE RAIN/SNOW
LINE. AT 60 HOURS, THE ETA MODEL HAD IT ALONG THE CENTRAL GULF COAST
AND KENAI PENINSULA WITH THE GFS MODEL HAS IT AS FAR NORTH AS THE
TANANA VALLEY. IN MY OPINION THE ETA MODEL IS RUNNING A LITTLE TOO
COLD WHILE THE GFS MAY BE A LITTLE TOO HOT. I WILL PROBABLY TAKE A
MEAN LOCATION OF THE RAIN/SNOW LINE OFF OF BOTH MODELS.

THE REMAINS OF THE OLD FRONT OVER BRISTOL BAY AND THE WESTERN
KUSKOKWIM VALLEY WILL DISSIPATE BY THIS AFTERNOON. RAIN AND SNOW OVER
BRISTOL BAY WILL END BY THIS EVENING. A FEW SNOW SHOWERS WILL MOVE
THROUGH KODIAK ISLAND TONIGHT.

A 969 MB LOW 200 MILES NORTH OF ADAK WILL MOVE TO 120 MILES SOUTHEAST
OF CAPE NAVARIN AND DEEPEN TO 960 MB SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND WILL MOVE
INTO THE CHUKOTSK PENINSULA AND WEAKEN TO 964 MB MONDAY AFTERNOON.
THE FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE PRIBILOFS AND EASTERN ALEUTIANS
TODAY, WILL MOVE INTO THE ALASKA PENINSULA AND THE KUSKOKWIM COAST
TONIGHT AND WILL DISSIPATE OVER THE WESTERN INTERIOR SUNDAY
AFTERNOON.

STRONG WINDS GUSTING TO 60 MPH WILL MOVE INTO THE KUSKOKWIM DELTA
COAST THIS EVENING AND WILL DIMINISH SUNDAY. POSSIBLE BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE COAST THIS EVENING AND WILL IMPROVE
EARLY SUNDAY.

RAIN AND SNOW WILL MOVE INTO BRISTOL BAY TONIGHT AND WILL CHANGE TO
MOSTLY RAIN SUNDAY. SNOW WILL FALL OVER THE KUSKOKWIM DELTA TONIGHT
AND WILL BECOME SNOW SHOWERS SUNDAY. SOME RAIN AND SNOW WILL MOVE
INTO THE SOUTHERN KENAI PENINSULA AND SOME SNOW INTO THE SUSITNA
VALLEY SUNDAY.

A 987 MB LOW OVER THE NORTHWEST PACIFIC WILL MOVE TO 250 MILES SOUTH
OF ATKA AND DEEPEN TO 965 MB AND TO NEAR KODIAK WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN
PRESSURE. THE FRONT WILL MOVE INTO BRISTOL BAY AND THE ALASKA
PENINSULA SUNDAY NIGHT AND MOVE INTO THE SOUTH CENTRAL INTERIOR
MONDAY.

GAP WINDS OVER THE KENAI PENINSULA AND SUSITNA VALLEY WILL INCREASE
THROUGH SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT AND WILL DIMINISH MONDAY. RAIN AND
SNOW WILL MOVE INTO THE SUSITNA VALLEY, KENAI PENINSULA AND PRINCE
WILLIAM SOUND SUNDAY NIGHT AND WILL BECOME RAIN ALONG THE SOUTHERN
COAST MONDAY.

.AFC...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...STORM 12A..15..6B
         GALE 12B..5AB..6A..8.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

NM DEC 03

Event by event

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

Blizzard, Kuskokwim Delta

When: December 27, 8:16 PM AST to December 28, 1:30 AM AST
Where: Kuskokwim Delta forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: December 28, 4:06 PM AST to December 29, 6:36 PM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured: 79 kt (91 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Susitna Valley

When: December 28, 10:00 PM AST to December 29, 5:00 PM AST
Where: Susitna Valley forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns

When: December 29, 5:18 AM AST to 12:53 PM AST
Where: Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 77 kt (89 mph) measured gust
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.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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: 5336622, 5336620, 5336623, 5336621.