Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 28 to 30, 2003

Name: Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, December 28 to 30, 2003
Start: 2003-12-28T09:53
End: 2003-12-30T01:15
Location: Alaska

December 28 to 30, 2003 · NWS AFG · 10 events in 8 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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.

Complex low pressure moved into the south Bering Sea early on the 27th and then moved slowly north, the main low center reaching a depth of 955 mb the afternoon of the 29th before slowly filling and moving north over the Chukotsk Peninsula through the 30th. The associated weather front moved over western Alaska on the night of the 28th but dissipated on the afternoon of the 29th over the Seward Peninsula. This frontal system spawned a new low south of the Alaska Peninsula on the 28th, and this low, while remaining over the Gulf of Alaska, sent a second weather front northeast over the state on the 29th and 30th...and this second front finally dissipated over the eastern Arctic Coast and eastern interior of Alaska on the morning of the 30th.Blizzard conditions were reported at:Zone 201: WainwrightZone 203:Kuparuk, Colville River Co-operative Observer; also Deadhorse ASOS and Nuiqsut ASOS reported near-blizzard conditions.Zone 204: Barter Island (Kaktovik)Zone 209:Kotzebue, SelawikZone 211: Golovin likely received blizzard conditions; the AWOS visibility sensor was not reporting, but Nome reported visibility restriction as low as 1/2 mile, and Golovin's winds were stronger than Nome's. High Winds were reported at:Zone 203: Deadhorse ASOS gusted near 52 knots (60 mph).Zone 204: Barter Island AWOS gust to 58 knots (67 mph).Zone 207: Shishmaref AWOS gust to 53 knots (61 mph).Zone 226: U.S. Army Mesonet sites: Texas Condo: 64 knots (74 mph) gust; site 10A: 61 knots (70 mph) gust; Texas Range gusted to 59 knots (68 mph). Washington gusted near 52 knots (60 mph). Heavy snow was reported at:Zone 216: Kaltag Co-operative Observer: 15.0 inches. Snow began around 0800 AST on the 28th and reached 6 inches at 0030 AST on the 29th.

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 28, 6:00 AM AST, 3 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 28, 6:00 AM AST, 3 hours 53 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
600 AM AST SUN DEC 28 2003

.DISCUSSION...WIND IS THE MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM FOR NORTHERN ALASKA
THIS MORNING AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE THE MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM UNTIL
AT LEAST TUESDAY. THE COMBINATION OF DEEP LOW PRESSURE OVER THE
BERING SEA AND HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING EXTENDING SOUTHWARD FROM THE
HIGH ARCTIC OVER EASTERN MAINLAND ALASKA IS WHAT IS GENERATING THE
STRONG WINDS. MANY SPOTS ALONG THE WEST COAST ARE CURRENTLY SEEING
STRONG E-LY WINDS THAT ARE PRODUCING BLOWING SNOW IN MANY AREAS.
BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE STILL POSSIBLE OVER SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND AND
NEAR CAPE ROMANZOF THIS MORNING AND OVER ZONE 212 TODAY AS AN
OCCLUSION BRINGS SOME NEW SNOW TO THE REGION. THE ARCTIC COAST FROM
BARROW WESTWARD IS ALSO SEEING A PICKUP OF THE E-LY WINDS AS THE
PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS OVER THE REGION. THE MODELS ARE IN PRETTY
GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH EARLY MON MORNING IN THE MOVEMENT AND STRENGTH
OF MAJOR SURFACE FEATURES. THEY ALL CONTINUE TO MOVE A DEEP LOW
CENTER SLOWLY N-WARD ALONG THE DATELINE ACROSS THE NORTHERN BERING
SEA TODAY AND MONDAY AND MOVE ANOTHER LOW CENTER NE-WARD ALONG THE
ALEUTIANS AND OVER EXTREME SOUTHWEST ALASKA AS A STRONG W-LY JET
MOVES E-WARD OVER THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA. THE MOVEMENT OF THIS LOW
CENTERS WILL SHIFT THE AXIS OF STRONGEST WINDS NORTHWARD AND E-WARD
OVER MAINLAND ALASKA TONIGHT AND MONDAY. THUS, WINDS SHOULD BEGIN TO
DIMINISH ALONGTHE WEST COAST SOUTH OF THE SEWARD PENINSULA WHILE A
GOOD CHINOOK EVENT WILL DEVELOP ALONG THE ALASKA RANGE TONIGHT AND
MONDAY WITH STRONG E-LY WINDS SPREADING E-WARD TO ALL PARTS OF THE
ARCTIC COAST BY SUN NIGHT. STRONG S-LY WINDS WILL BRING WARMER AIR
NORTHWARD OVER MUCH OF NORTHERN ALASKA TONIGHT AND MONDAY AND BRING
SOME HEAVY SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TO THE WESTERN INTERIOR WITH THE HEAVIEST
SNOWS OVER ZONES 215 AND 216.

AFTER EARLY MON MORNING, THE ETA AND AVN BEGIN TO DIVERGE IN THEIR
SOLUTIONS. THE AVN PUSHES A DEEP LOW CENTER NORTHWARD OVER THE
CHUKCHI SEA BY TUE WHILE WEAKENING THE LOW CENTER THAT WILL BE MOVING
OVER THE NORTHERN GULF OF ALASKA. THE ETA AND ECMWF ON THE OTHER HAND
KEEP THE GULF OF ALASKA LOW MUCH STRONGER AND THE CHUKCHI SEA LOW
MUCH WEAKER. THE ETA/ECMWF IS THE PREFERRED SOLN AS IT APPEARS THAT
THE BEST DYNAMICS SHOULD SWING E-WARD WELL TO OUR SOUTH OVER THE GULF
OF ALASKA. THUS, THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO SHIFT E-WARD
INTO CANADA AND WEAKEN BY TUE AS THE GULF OF ALASKA LOW CENTER
WEAKENS. COLDER AIR SHOULD FILTER BACK INTO THE STATE FROM WEST TO
EAST AS AN UPPER-LEVEL TROF OF LOW PRESSURE WORKS ITS WAY INTO THE
STATE. LIGHT SNOW WILL LIKELY FALL OVER MOST OF NORTHERN ALASKA MON
NIGHT AND TUESDAY AS THE AIR MASS COOLS AND FAVORABLE DYNAMICS MOVE
OVER THE STATE. THE LONG-RANGE OUTLOOK FOR WED THROUGH SAT OF NEXT
WEEK LOOKS LIKE THAT AT LEAST SOME CLEARING WILL OCCUR OVER MUCH OF
NORTHERN ALASKA WITH MOSTLY LIGHT WINDS AND SEASONABLE TEMPS AS BOTH
THE ECMWF AND MRF SHOW RIDGING ALOFT BUILDING N-WARD OVER THE STATE.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...BLIZ WARNING 213 AND 214 (CAPE ROMANZOF) THIS MORNING. BLIZ
WARNING 212 TODAY. HEAVY SNOW WARNING 215 AND 216 TONIGHT/MONDAY.
BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY 201...202...203..204...211 AND REMAINDER OF 214
TODAY. BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY 207...209...210 TODAY/TONIGHT. WINTER
STORM WATCH 203...204 TONIGHT AND MON. HIGH WIND WATCH 225...226
TONIGHT/MON. WIND ADVY 205...206...223 TONIGHT/MON.
MARINE...GALE 9A...9B TODAY. GALE 10A...10B...11A...11B
TODAY/TONIGHT.

MP DEC 03

Event by event

5 blizzard, 4 high wind, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast

When: December 28, 9:53 AM AST to December 29, 6:00 PM AST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley

When: December 28, 12:53 PM AST to December 29, 4:56 AM AST
Where: Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Srn Seward Peninsula Coast

When: December 28, 6:56 PM AST to December 29, 1:16 PM AST
Where: Srn Seward Peninsula Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng

When: December 28, 9:15 PM AST to December 29, 1:15 PM AST
Where: Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng forecast zone
Measured: 64 kt (74 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys

When: December 29, 12:30 AM AST to 4:00 PM AST
Where: Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, Chukchi Sea Coast

When: December 29, 1:16 AM AST to 2:56 AM AST
Where: Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast

When: December 29, 2:15 AM AST to December 30, 1:15 AM AST
Where: Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast

When: December 29, 3:55 AM AST to 1:55 PM AST
Where: Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: December 29, 5:00 AM AST to 4:00 PM AST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: December 29, 10:53 AM AST to 12:53 PM AST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) estimated 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: 5335850, 5335853, 5335854, 5335851, 5335846, 5335855, 5335848, 5335849, 5335847, 5335852.