Blizzard in Alaska, February 19, 2003

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, February 19, 2003
Start: 2003-02-19T16:53
End: 2003-02-19T21:53
Location: Alaska

February 19, 2003 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A building high pressure center over the Beaufort Sea helped create strong easterly winds along the Central Beaufort Sea Coast. Winds reached 45 mph at Deadhorse creating blowing snow that reduced the visibility to less that 1/4 mile for 5 hours before the winds diminished.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

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 Feb 19, 2:30 PM AST, 2 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 19, 2:30 PM AST, 2 hours 23 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 PM AST WED FEB 19 2003

OMEGA BLOCK OVER NORTHERN ALASKA STARTING TO BREAK DOWN AS THE
BLOCKING HIGH MOVES EAST. A LONG WAVE RIDGE WILL BUILD NORTH
ALONG THE ALCAN BORDER ON THE WEEKEND. THIS WILL CAUSE SOUTHERLY
FLOW ALOFT TO INCREASE OVER THE WEEKEND BRINGING CLOUDS AND WARMER
TEMPERATURES TO MOST OF NORTHERN ALASKA BY THE WEEKEND. IT WILL ALSO
BRING SNOW TO WESTERN ALASKA STARTING LATE FRIDAY WITH POSSIBLE
FREEZING RAIN IN THE WESTERN INTERIOR.

A TROUGH ALOFT OVER THE NORTHERN YUKON WILL MOVE TO PABT-PAEG BY
3AM THU...TO PABR-PABT 3PM THU...PASC-PFYU 3AM FRI AND ALONG THE
ALCAN BORDER 3PM FRI. A SURFACE HIGH FROM THE YUKON TO NORTH OF THE
ARCTIC COAST WILL MOVE EAST THU AND THU NIGHT AS THE TROUGH ALOFT
BEGINS MOVING EAST. WITH THE TROUGH ALOFT THERE ARE AREAS OF STRATUS
AND FLURRIES WITH INCREASING EAST WINDS AND COLDER TEMPERATURES AS
THE TROUGH MOVES WEST. THESE CONDITIONS WILL DIMINISH THU NIGHT AS
THE TROUGH MOVES BACK EAST.

A WEAK OCCLUDED FRONT FROM ST MATTHEW ISLAND-PAPH WILL MOVE TO
ST MATTHEW IS-PAKN 3AM THU...AND THEN DISSIPATE. THIS WILL BRING
LIGHT SNOW TO SOUTHWEST ALASKA TONIGHT AND THU.

A SECOND OCCLUDED FRONT SOUTH OF THE ALEUTIANS WILL MOVE TO PASN-PAKN
BY 3AM THU AND TO PAHP-PATK 3PM FRI...AND DISSIPATE FROM PAGM-PAFM SAT.
MORE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL ACCOMPANY THIS FRONT TO WESTERN ALASKA.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...SCA/BRISK EASTERN 14 AND 9B. GALE WESTERN 14.

JB FEB 03

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: February 19, 4:53 PM AST to 9:53 PM AST
Where: Central Beaufort Sea Coast 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, February 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: 5340694.