Alaska, 2003

Ice Storm in Alaska, February 4, 2003

February 4, 2003 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

As a warm front approached and passed from the south, an area of freezing rain developed over the Western Tanana Valley. Warm, moist air associated with this front was forced aloft over the underlying frozen surface.

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.

As a warm front approached and passed from the south, an area of freezing rain developed over the Western Tanana Valley. Warm, moist air associated with this front was forced aloft over the underlying frozen surface. Rain developed aloft as temperatures rose above the freezing mark in a narrow layer of the lower atmosphere. Rainfall around the warm front reached the ground where it froze on contact creating sheets of ice on exposed surfaces. A tenth of water equivalent was measured near the Tanana ASOS before the rain ended.

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 4, 2:30 PM AST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 2:30 PM AST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 PM AST TUE FEB 4 2003

A STRONG WEATHER SYSTEM IS MOVING NORTH OVER THE STATE AND CONTINUING A
LOT OF ACTIVE WEATHER. THE MAIN LOW SOUTH OF COLD BAY WILL MOVE NORTH
TONIGHT AND NORTH OVER NORTON SOUND AND THE SEWARD PENINSULA. THE LOW
WILL THEN DRIFT NORTHWEST OVER THE CHUKCHI SEA THURSDAY AS IT WEAKENS TO
1008 MB. MEANWHILE THE WARM FRONT WILL MOVE NORTH OVER THE INTERIOR
TONIGHT...DECELERATING AS IT MOVES OVER THE BROOKS RANGE ON WEDNESDAY
...THEN SLIDE EAST ON THURSDAY AS COLD AIR AROUND THE LOW FORMS A COLD
FRONT WHICH ADVANCES TO PRUDHOE BAY-FORT YUKON-DELTA JUNCTION 00Z FRI.

GFS MODEL PREFERRED THOUGH IS CLOSE TO ETA...ETA JUST ISNT AS AGRESSIVE
WITH PUSHING THE COLD AIR EAST ACROSS THE INTERIOR THU. IN THE MEDIUM
RANGE...NEW GFS IS NOW FOLLOWING ECMWF SO THE COLD TREND OF THE MRF IS
NOT FAVORED AND WILL KEEP DAY 4-7 TEMPS WARMER THAN MRF INDICATES.

NORTH SLOPE...EXPECT A SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL OVER BROOKS RANGE...THINK
WARM ADVECTION WILL LAST LONGER OVER ZONE 205 SO WILL GO WITH A WARNING
BUT ONLY AN ADVISORY FOR 206. ON WEDNESDAY AS THE LOW MOVES NORTH OVER
THE WEST COAST EXPECT EAST/NORTHEAST WINDS TO INCREASE EARLY SO EXPECT
BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR COASTAL ZONES...201 MAY APPROACH BLIZZARD FOR
A WHILE WED PM.

WESTERN AK...ARCTIC BOUNDARY FROM SAINT MARYS-KOYUK-HUSLIA-EAGLE
PROVIDING LOTS OF GOOD DYNAMICS FOR BLIZZARDS ALONG THE OUTER COAST AND
SIGNIFICANT SNOW JUST TO THE WEST OF THE BOUNDARY...AND SOME FREEZING
RAIN TO THE SOUTHEAST. AS LOW PRESSURE CENTER MOVES NORTH OVER AREA AND
WEAKENS ON WEDNESDAY...BLIZ AND SNOW EVENTS WILL COME TO AN END BUT SOME
POTENTIAL FOR PATCHY FREEZING RAIN MAY LINGER UNTIL LOW SLINGS COLD AIR
EAST OVER AREA WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

CENTRAL/ERN INTERIOR...
STRONG DOWNSLOPE OVER ALASKA RANGE TO CONTINUE INTO WED NIGHT BUT
DIMINISH A LITTLE BY THU. UNTIL THEN DELTA JCT IN ZONE 223 WILL BE ON
BORDER LINE WITH SOMETIMES STRONG SOUTH GUSTS...OTHERWISE MODERATE SE
WINDS. CONTINUING ALL WIND WARNINGS THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THIS CHINOOK FLOW
WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE NEAR RECORD TEMPS TO THE TANANA VALLEY AREA
THROUGH WED...SOME COOLING THU AS FLOW DIMINISHES SOME. THE WATCH FOR
HEAVY SNOW FOR ZONES 218 AND 219 HAS BEEN UPGRADED KEYING IN ON TONIGHT
ESPECIALLY AND NORTH OF BETTELS/EAST OF ARCTIC VILLAGE. WILL CONTINUE
FREEZING RAIN ADVISORIES FOR 221...220 AND NORTHERN 224 AS PATCHY RAIN
MAY LINGER IN THIS REGION THAT IS FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM THE DIRECT
CHINOOK EFFECTS OF THE AK RANGE. SOUTHERN 224 MAY HAVE POTENTIAL FOR
FREEZING DRIZZLE AT TIMES IN THE LOW STRATUS THAT OCCURS IN VALLEYS.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HEAVY SNOW...205 217 218 219
         HIGH WIND...223 225 226
         BLIZZARD...207 210 213
         FREEZING RAIN...210 212 215 216 217
         WINTER STORM SNOW-BLIZ...208
MARINE...GALE 14, 9B, 10B, AND 11A (CAPE LISBURNE TO ICY CAPE).
         FREEZING SPRAY 14. BRSK 9B (DALL POINT TO SLEDGE ISLAND), 9A,
         10A, AND 11A (ICY CAPE TO CAPE HALKETT).

JL FEB 03

Event by event

1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly

When
February 4, 4:00 PM AST to 7:00 PM AST
Where
Wrn Tanana Vly Wrn Yukon Vly forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Ice Storm
Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

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: 5340686.