Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 3 to 6, 2003

Name: Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 3 to 6, 2003
Start: 2003-02-03T08:55
End: 2003-02-06T20:53
Location: Alaska

February 3 to 6, 2003 · NWS AFG · 7 events in 6 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 978mb low and associated occluded front moved north from Bristol Bay through the Yukon Delta before dissipating along the Western Arctic Coast. During the same time period a 1036mb high over Siberia slowly drifted eastward to the Central Arctic Ocean. As the low moved north towards the opposing high, a strong pressure gradient between these two systems developed resulting in very strong winds across western Alaska and portions of the Central Beaufort Sea Coast. Moisture brought north with the low pressure center and frontal boundary developed into widespread snowfall, locally heavy. This snowfall, combined with the strong winds, resulted in blizzard conditions in blowing snow. Gambell, Tin City, Kivalina, Point Lay, Nuiqsut, Deadhorse, and Cape Romanzof automated weather systems all reported visibilities of less than 1/4 mile. Heavy snow was reported by the Kaltag Co-Op observing site where 6 inches of new snow fell over a 24 hour period. High Winds occurred at:Zone 203: Deadhorse ASOS - gust 58 mph.Zone 213: Tin City AWOS - gust 64 mph; Gambell AWOS gust 66 mph.

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 3, 4:00 AM AST, 4 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 3, 4:00 AM AST, 4 hours 55 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
400 AM AST MON FEB 3 2003

THE LARGE SCALE SYNOPTIC PATTERN IS DEVELOPING PRETTY MUCH AS
EXPECTED. AS USUAL...THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS. THE 970 MB LOW
JUST SOUTH OF PACD WILL WEAKEN RAPIDLY AS IT MOVES NORTHWARD...WITH
MAYBE A 992 MB CENTER NEAR PAUN AT 3AM TUE (AND MAYBE NOT). THE
OCCLUDED FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW IS MOVING RAPIDLY NORTH
OVER BRISTOL BAY...IT WILL BE MERGING WITH THE NEARLY STATIONARY
(ARCTIC) FRONT THAT LIES FROM ABOUT PAKP-PASK-PAKK-PACZ THIS
AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING. WE ARE NOT MUCH IMPRESSED WITH THIS
FRONT AS A MOISTURE SOURCE. IT DOESNT LOOK LIKE MUCH ON THE
SATELLITE PICS...AND ONLY PRODUCED 0.08 INCH PRECIPITATION AT PACD
BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z. ON THE OTHER HAND...THERES CERTAINLY PLENTY
OF WARM AIR THERE...AND WE EXPECT RESPECTABLE SNOW NEAR THE ARCTIC
FRONT DESCRIBED ABOVE. GIVEN THAT THE MODELS ARE USING THEIR USUAL
(SIMPLE) 10 TO 1 RATIO TO CALCULATE THEIR SNOWFALL QPFS FROM LIQUID
EQUIVALENT QPFS...THE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THAT THEY INDICATE WILL
PROBABLY NOT TOO FAR OFF FOR THE MOST PART. WE WOULD OF COURSE HAVE
TO TWEAK THEM UPWARD IF THE LIQUID EQUIVALENT QPFS WERE TO LIKELY
TO VERIFY. AS IT IS...THERE IS ONLY ONE LOCATION IN WHICH WE WILL GO
FOR A HEAVY SNOW WARNING...THE NULATO HILLS IN ZONE 215 (ONLY). THE
COMBINATION OF DYNAMICS AND UPSLOPE THERE SUGGEST SOME SERIOUS SNOWFALL
THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

GIVEN THE WARM ADVECTION...WINDS WILL NOT BE TOO SCARY IN MOST
SPOTS...THOUGH THEY WILL CERTAINLY BE INCREASING ON THE BACK (WEST)
SIDE OF THE STATIONARY FRONT AS THE INVERTED TROUGH ASSOCIATED WITH
IT STRENGTHENS. THERE ARE CERTAIN LOCATIONS WHERE THE LIKELY
CONTRIBUTION BY TERRAIN MAKES A BLIZZARD WARNING A GOOD BET...ZONE
213...AND THE PACZ AREA IN ZONE 214.

WERE STILL CONFINING THE CHANCE OF FREEZING RAIN TO ZONES 215
AND 216 BUT WILL MOVE THE TIMING UP A BIT (TO TODAY). MAYBE A BIT
IN ZONE 220 ON TUE.

THE HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ZONES 225 AND 226 STILL LOOKS LIKE A
LOCK...THOUGH IT MAY BE TOUGH TO VERIFY.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY

PUBLIC...HWG ZONES 225 AND 226.
         BLZD ZONE 213...AND 214 SOUTHWEST OF SCAMMON BAY.
         HEAVY SNOW NULATO HILLS IN ZONE 215.

MARINE...GALE AREA 9B WEST OF SLEDGE ISLAND
         BWA AREA 9B FROM SLEDGE ISLAND EAST.
         BWA AREA 10B
         SCA AND HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY AREA 14.

DJH FEB 03

Event by event

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

Blizzard, Yukon Delta

When: February 3, 8:55 AM AST to 7:55 PM AST
Where: Yukon Delta forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys

When: February 3, 10:00 AM AST to February 4, 10:00 AM AST
Where: Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys forecast zone
Reported by: OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Blizzard, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: February 3, 4:55 PM AST to February 5, 2:55 AM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Chukchi Sea Coast

When: February 4, 1:53 AM AST to February 5, 4:06 AM AST
Where: Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: February 4, 3:55 PM AST to February 5, 9:15 AM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Measured: 57 kt (66 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast

When: February 5, 12:20 PM AST to 6:03 PM AST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: February 6, 2:07 AM AST to 8:53 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.
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 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: 5340562, 5340563, 5340561, 5340564, 5340567, 5340565, 5340566.