Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 9 to 10, 2003

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 9 to 10, 2003
Start: 2003-02-09T10:30
End: 2003-02-10T14:53
Location: Alaska

February 9 to 10, 2003 · NWS AFG · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Heavy snow fell along a slow moving warm frontal boundary that stretched eastward from a low pressure center near Bettles, to the Canadian border. Locations reporting 6 inches of snowfall in less than 24 hours included the augmented Bettles ASOS site, and the Department of Transportation observing sites at Coldfoot and Sevenmile Camp.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 9, 4:00 AM AST, 6 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 9, 4:00 AM AST, 6 hours 30 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
400 AM AST SUN FEB 9 2003

THE VERY WARM WEATHER REGIME THAT HAS DOMINATED ALASKAS WEATHER IS
EXPECTED TO SLOWLY TRANSITION TO A MORE NORMAL WEATHER PATTERN OVER
THE NEXT 5 DAYS. MODEL OUTPUT IS IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT IN THE IDEA
THAT THE VERY STRONG HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE THAT NOW EXTENDS NW-WARD OVER
MAINLAND ALASKA WILL BE PUSHED SE-WARD AS A LONG-WAVE TROUGH PUSHES
SLOWLY SE-WARD FROM THE NORTHERN BERING SEA OVER WESTERN ALASKA BY THE
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THUS COLDER AIR IS EXPECTED TO FILTER SLOWLY
SE-WARD ACROSS THE WESTERN AND INTERIOR ZONES OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
THIS COLDER AIR SHOULD FINALLY PUT AN END TO ANY FREEZING RAIN/RAIN BY
CHANGING IT ALL BACK TO SNOW.

THE CHANGEOVER BACK TO SNOW SHOULD OCCUR TODAY ACROSS THE WEST COAST
ZONES TODAY, THEN TONIGHT ACROSS THE INTERIOR ZONES. THE MAIN SURFACE
LOW, NOW OVER KOTZEBUE SOUND, IS EXPECTED TO SLOWLY MOVE EASTWARD AND
WEAKEN TODAY AS ITS DYNAMIC SUPPORT WEAKENS. THE WEAKENING OF THIS LOW
CENTER WILL RESULT IN ANY STEADY PRECIP THAT IS NOW OCCURRING ACROSS
THE WEST COAST ZONE TO DIMINISH TO SNOW SHOWERS/FLURRIES. ALSO THE
STRONG N-LY WINDS THAT HAS BEEN BLOWING ACROSS ZONES 213 AND 207 SHOULD
DIMINISH SOMEWHAT AS WELL TODAY AND TONIGHT. AS THE ARCTIC FRONT THAT
MARKS THE LEADING EDGE OF THIS COLDER AIR SAGS SE-WARD, WEAK LOW CENTERS
THAT WILL BE TRACKING NE-WARD ALONG THIS FRONT WILL TRACK FURTHER AND
FURTHER TO THE EAST, MOVING THE GREATEST THREAT OF MORE LIGHT PRECIP TO
THE INTERIOR ZONES THROUGH THE EARLY AND MIDDLE PART OF NEXT WEEK.

TIMING OF THE PRECIP IS GOING TO BE DIFFICULT DUE TO THE SMALL-SCALE
NATURE OF THESE LOW CENTERS. TEMPERATURES OVER THE ARCTIC ZONES WILL
ALSO SLOWLY FALL AS STRONG SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS SLOWLY SE-WARD
FROM OVER THE HIGH ARCTIC TOWARD OUR ARCTIC COAST. THE INTERACTION OF
THIS HIGH PRESSURE WITH LOWER PRESSURE OVER INTERIOR ALASKA SHOULD ALSO
GENERATE PERSISTENT MODERATE E-LY WINDS OVER THE ARCTIC COASTAL PLAIN
WITH THESE WINDS LASTING INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THE WINDS WILL
BE STRONG ENOUGH TO PRODUCE SOME BLOWING SNOW BUT IT DOES NOT LOOK LIKE
THEY WILL BE QUITE STRONG ENOUGH TO PRODUCE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS. THE
COOLING OF THE AIR MASS SHOULD ALSO SQUEEZE OUT SOME SNOW
FLURRIES/SHOWERS OVER THE ARCTIC ZONES AS WELL. THE ECMWF AND MRF ARE
IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN FORECASTING A COMPLETE RETURN TO NEAR NORMAL
TEMPS OVER ALL OF NORTHERN ALASKA BY NEXT WEEKEND AS SURFACE HIGH
PRESSURE RIDGING BUILDS S-WARD ACROSS ALL OF MAINLAND ALASKA WITH MAJOR
LOW CENTERS/MAIN JET AXIS BEING PUSHED WELL S-WARD OVER THE GULF OF
ALASKA.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
.PUBLIC...NONE.
.MARINE...HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 14 TODAY/TONIGHT. BRISK WIND/SMALL
CRAFT ADVY 14, 9B, 10B, 11A, AND 11B TODAY/TONIGHT.

MP FEB 03

Event by event

3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range

When: February 9, 10:30 AM AST to February 10, 10:30 AM AST
Where: S. Slopes of Ern Brooks Range forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Yukon Flats Nearby Uplands

When: February 9, 10:30 AM AST to February 10, 10:30 AM AST
Where: Yukon Flats Nearby Uplands forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Upper Koyukuk Valley

When: February 9, 2:53 PM AST to February 10, 2:53 PM AST
Where: Upper Koyukuk Valley forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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

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: 5340689, 5340691, 5340690.