Heavy Snow, S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range
- When
- February 4, 12:00 AM AST to February 5, 12:00 AM AST
- Where
- S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range forecast zone
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 4 to 5, 2003
A stationary front along the southern slopes of the Brooks Range was the focal point for the development of heavy snowfall as warmer, moist air was forced over this front by an approaching warm front to the south. Locally heavy snow occurred as the warmer moist air interacted with the relatively colder air near the stationary front.
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.
A stationary front along the southern slopes of the Brooks Range was the focal point for the development of heavy snowfall as warmer, moist air was forced over this front by an approaching warm front to the south. Locally heavy snow occurred as the warmer moist air interacted with the relatively colder air near the stationary front. Over six inches of new snow was reported by the Co-Op Observer at Wiseman over a 24 hour period.
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, 2:30 PM AST, 9 hours 30 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 3, 2:30 PM AST, 9 hours 30 minutes before
NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION 230 PM AST MON FEB 3 2003 THE BEGINNING OF THE WARMUP IS UNDERWAY AS A BRANCH OF THE JETSTREAM ALONG 40N LATITUDE HAS MADE ITS WAY INTO ALASKA DUE TO STRONG RIDGING OVER THE ERN PACIFIC AND BC...WHICH ACCORDING TO MEDIUM RANGE MODELS WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEKEND. AN ACTIVE STRING OF WX SYSTEMS WILL MOVE NORTH OVER THE AREA BEGINNING WITH THE FIRST OCCLUSION MOVING NORTH TONIGHT. CHINOOK WINDS ARE ALREADY PRESENT OVER THE ALASKA RANGE AND EXPECT OCCASIONAL WARNING-LEVEL WIND GUSTS THROUGH MUCH OF THE WEEK...MUCH OF THE EASTERN INTERIOR REMAINING DRY FROM ZONE 220 SOUTH BUT WESTERN INTERIOR GETTING A SLUG OF SNOW WITH THIS FIRST OCCLUSION TONIGHT AND TUESDAY..THUS A SNOW WARNING FOR ZONES 215..216..217 WHERE THERMAL BOUNDARY WILL SLOWLY MIGRATE NW AND PROVIDE GOOD OVERRUNNING OF THE OCCLUSIONS MOIST AIR. THE ASSOCIATED 983 MB LOW OVER NORTHERN BRISTOL BAY WILL MOVE TO THE EASTERN SEWARD PEN 12Z TUE AND THEN REFORM EAST OF BARTER ISLAND TUE AFTERNOON. THE MODERATE WINDS IN ADVANCE OF THE LOW AND AS IT PASSES WILL KEEP BLIZZARD CONDITIONS OVER ZONE 214 TONIGHT AND 213 THROUGH TUESDAY...THEN CONDITIONS WILL RELAX TEMPORARILY. A 972 MB LOW SOUTH OF COLD BAY WED AM WILL MOVE TO NEAR BETHEL WED AFTERNOON AT 983 MB AND PUSH MORE MOISTURE OVER ALASKA. THE OCCLUSION WITH THAT LOW WILL MOVE TO HUSLIA-TANANA-TALKEETNA WED AFTERNOON AND MAINTAIN THE STRONG SOUTHERLY FLOW...ANOTHER SHOT OF SNOW TO THE WESTERN INTERIOR AND MODERATE WINDS IN ADVANCE OF THE LOWS OVER THE WESTERN TWO THIRDSA OF ALASKA. THIS FEATURE WILL BE STRONG AND EXPANSIVE ENOUGH TO PRODUCE EAST WINDS ON THE ARCTIC COAST TUESDAY NIGHT WHICH WILL INCREASE WEDNESDAY WHILE COLD AIR REMAINS...SO MARGINAL BLOWING SNOW AND COOL WIND CHILLS WEDNESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. IN THE SHORT TERM GFS AND ETA FAIRLY SIMILAR BUT GFS DEEPER WITH LOWS AND PREFERRED. WEAK LOW NOW NEAR BARTER ISLAND WILL DRIFT DAYS 4-7...ECMWF IS A DAY EARLIER...SATURDAY...THAN GFS WITH PLACING A DENT IN THE RIDGING OVER AK...SO HAVE COOLED OFF SOME INTERIOR TEMPS SAT-MON. .AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ZONES 225..226. HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR ZONES 215..216..217. BLIZZARD WARNING FOR ZONES 213 AND 214. MARINE...GALE 14..9B. BRISK WIND 10B..11A. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 14. JL FEB 03
Event by event
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- 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
- High Wind in New York, February 4, 2003
- Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, February 4, 2003
- Strong Wind in Ohio, February 4, 2003
- Dense Fog in California, February 4, 2003
- Strong Wind in New Jersey, February 4, 2003
- Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, February 4, 2003
- Strong Wind in Vermont, February 4 to 5, 2003
- Winter Weather in Vermont, February 4, 2003
- High Wind in North Carolina, February 4, 2003
- Winter Storm in Utah, February 4 to 5, 2003
- Strong Wind in Maryland, February 4, 2003
- Strong Wind in New York, February 4, 2003
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5340568.