Blizzard in Alaska, January 19 to 20, 2003

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, January 19 to 20, 2003
Start: 2003-01-19T00:53
End: 2003-01-20T04:01
Location: Alaska

January 19 to 20, 2003 · NWS AFG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

Blizzard conditions developed as a 1049mb high pressure system over the eastern Arctic Ocean moved southward. Strong easterly winds and blowing snow along the Arctic Coast near Deadhorse and Nuiqsut caused the visibility to be reduced to less than a 1/4 of a mile. These strong easterly winds extended as far west as Wainwright . Wind speeds up to 43mph were recorded at the Wainwright ASOS resulting in blowing snow that reduced visibilty to less than 1/4 mile.

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 Jan 18, 2:30 PM AST, 10 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 2:30 PM AST, 10 hours 23 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 PM AST SAT JAN 18 2003

WEATHER PATTERN FOR NORTHERN ALASKA SET TO UNDERGONE IMPORTANT CHANGES
OVER THE NEXT SEVERALS DAYS WITH A TREND TOWARD DRIER WEATHER FOR THE
FORECAST AREA.

ALOFT....HIGH NORTH OF BARROW WILL DRIFT EAST. LOW WELL SOUTH OF ADAK
WILL DRIFT EAST. RIDGE FROM HIGH OVER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TO SOUTHERN
YUKON TERRITORY WILL MORPH INTO A CLOSED HIGH OVER THE CENTRAL GULF OF
ALASKA BY TUESDAY. EASTERN INTERIOR TO BE BRUSHED BY TROUGH ROTATING
AROUND POLAR VORTEX OVER HUDSONS BAY.

AT THE SURFACE...1039 MB HIGH NEAR 77N 145W WILL BUILD AND DRIFT SOUTH
NEXT COUPLE DAYS. 994 MB LOW 200 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GAMBELL WILL
DISSIPATE TONIGHT. THE RATTY REMAINS OF THE ASSOCIATED OCCLUDED FRONT
NOW OVER THE BROOKS RANGE WILL DISSIPATE TONIGHT TOO. MUCH WEAKER
FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH LOW NOW 500 MILES SOUTH OF CORDOVA WILL LIMP
ACROSS THE ALASKA RANGE ON MONDAY BEFORE DISSIPATING.

IN THE SHORT RANGE...MODELS IN PRETTY DECENT AGREEMENT ON SYNOPTIC
SCALE FEATURES.

MID RANGE MODELS ALL CONVERGING ON IDEA ADVERTISED BY ECMF OF UPPER
LEVEL HIGH WINDING UP WEST OF WRANGEL ISLAND BY MID WEEK...THOUGH
STILL WITH SOME DIFFERENCE ON LOW ALOFT OVER SOUTHERN YUKON/NORTHEASTERN
GULF OF ALASKA. THIS WOULD BE A FAIRLY DRY PATTERN FOR MOST ALL THE
FORECAST AREA...AND EVENTUALLY PRETTY COLD OVER EASTERN INTERIOR.

FOR THE NORTH SLOPE...WILL CONTINUE BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR 203 AND
204...THOUGH MUCH OF THE RESTRICTION IS FOG. WILL ALSO CONTINUE
WIND ADVISORY FOR ZONES 201 AND 202. MAJOR CHANGE NEXT COUPLE DAYS
WILL BE COOLER TEMPERATURES. THIS MAY LEAD TO WIND CHILL ISSUES BY
MONDAY.

FOR THE WEST COAST...BUILDING RIDGE WILL SHUNT MUCH OF THE WEATHER
OFF TO THE WEST BY THIS TIME TOMORROW. NEXT FRONT MAY PRODUCE A LITTLE
SNOW MON...BUT WINDS WILL BE THE MAJOR WEATHER FEATURE THROUGH MID WEEK.

FOR THE INTERIOR...POTENTIAL SHORT TERM IRRITANT IS THE THREAT OF
A LITTLE FREEZING DRIZZLE FROM THE STRATUS LEFT IN THE WAKE OF THE
NOW DISSIPATING OCCLUDED FRONT OVER THE BROOKS RANGE. THIS STRATUS
WILL BE DISPATCHED FAIRLY QUICKLY AS PRESSURE GRAD INCREASES NEXT 12-18
HOURS. MOST SIGNIFICANT WEATHER NEXT FEW DAYS WILL BE WINDS...WHICH
WILL LIKELY WIND UP HIGH ENOUGH FOR ADVISORIES IN MOST ZONES AWAY FROM
THE ALASKA RANGE. NEXT FRONT...DUE MONDAY...LOOKS MUCH WEAKER WITH
ONLY A MINIMAL THREAT OF ANY SNOW.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
MARINE...SCA/BWA 14...10A..10B..11A AND 11B.
PUBLIC...NONE AT THIS TIME.
RT JAN 03

Event by event

2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast

When: January 19, 12:53 AM AST to 1:53 AM AST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Central Beaufort Sea Coast

When: January 19, 11:53 PM AST to January 20, 4:01 AM 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, January 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: 5340133, 5340134.