Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 6 to 8, 2003

Name: Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 6 to 8, 2003
Start: 2003-01-06T02:43
End: 2003-01-08T08:15
Location: Alaska

January 6 to 8, 2003 · NWS AFC · 8 events in 6 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 8

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 AFC wrote it up.

A strong low in the north Pacific moved toward the western Aleutians at 970 mbs Sunday morning. By Monday morning the low evolved into multiple centers, one southwest of Attu and the other south of Adak. A moderate front extended from the western center in a long arc into the western Gulf of Alaska. By Tuesday morning, one 964 mb low was located northwest of Adak with the second center at 966 mbs south of Dutch Harbor. The front continued to connect both lows, then extend in an eastward arc into the Gulf of Alaska.Very cold, modified arctic air was in place across the entire Bering Sea and Aleutians prior to the onset of strong winds and precipitation. Snowfall first began with light intensities. Snow intensities then increased markedly as the front approached. As the front moved into areas, snow turned to rain.Easterly winds also increased significantly in advance of the front, whipping falling and ground based loose snow into a blizzard. Peak gusts reached at least 78 mph in advance of the front at the Dutch Harbor airport between 9 and 10 am Tuesday. The change in precipitation state from frozen to liquid abruptly ended the blizzard conditions.Across the Pribilofs, blizzard conditions, accompanied by peak winds of 67 mph at the Saint George ASOS, began very early Tuesday just after 2:30 am.In the Bristol Bay zone, a blizzard was reported along the western capes between 7 pm and midnight Tuesday. Along the Kuskokwim Delta, blizzard conditions were recorded at Mekoryuk from 11:15 pm Tuesday until 8:15 am Wednesday.

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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 5, 9:00 PM AST, 5 hours 43 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 5, 9:00 PM AST, 5 hours 43 minutes before

SOUTH/SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
900 PM AST SUN JAN 5 2003

ANALYSIS AND FORECASTS...TWO MAJOR SURFACE SYSTEMS ARE IMPACTING
THE FORECAST AREA. THE LOW NOW MOVING TO THE NORTH GULF COAST IN
THE VICINITY OF CAPE YAKATAGA FOLLOWED BY THE THE MAIN SURFACE
CENTER 300 NM SOUTH OF IT. THE JET IS NOW ALONG 140W HEADING
NORTH NORTHEAST INTO THE YUKON TERRITORY STEERING THE GULF SYSTEM
INTO THE GULF COAST AND FEEDING THE MOISTURE INTO THE EASTERN
INTERIOR AND EASTERN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND. THE MAJOR UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH NOW EXTENDING FROM THE ARCTIC INTO THE ALASKA PENINSULA
WILL ROTATE ACROSS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA MON EVENING AND
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND BY TUESDAY MORNING. THEREFORE, WE ARE
HOLDING THE PRECIPITATION OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL REGION...PRINCE
WILLIAM SOUND AND THE COPPER RIVER BASIN UNTIL THE UPPER TROUGH
KICKS THROUGH.

OUT WEST A MAJOR STORM IS PUSHING INTO THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS WITH
A FRONTAL LOW FORMING SOUTH OF KISKA. THIS LOW BECOMES THE
PRIMARY CENTER BY LATE MON MORNING THEN KICKS ITS FRONT EAST WITH
YET ANOTHER FRONTAL LOW FORMING ABOUT 200 NM SOUTH OF ATKA MON
EVENING. THE TWO LOWS WILL THEN BEGIN TO ROTATE AROUND EACH OTHER
WITH THE LOW SOUTH OF ATKA INTENSIFYING AS THE TRAILING LOW NEAR
KISKA DROPS SOUTH THEN SOUTHEAST WRAPPING INTO THE ATAK LOW. THIS
DRAGS A GOOD SHOT OF COLD AIR INTO THE ATKA LOW AND CONTINUING
THE INTENSIFICATION OF THE LOW. THIS LOW WILL BECOME NEARLY
STATIONARY JUST WEST OF ATKA LATE TUE NIGHT THROUGH THU NIGHT.
A STRONG SHOT OF WARM ADVECTION MOVES INTO THE CENTRAL AND
EASTERN ALEUTIANS BY TUE NIGHT. BUT THE STRONG PREFRONTAL WINDS
AND EXISTING COLD AIR WITH WARM OVER RUNNING MOISTURE WILL RESULT
IN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WITH BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THAT IS
EXPECTED TO EXTEND FROM THE ADAK AREA TO THE BRISTOL BAY COAST
OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

.AFC...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...WINTER STORM WATCH ZONES 161 181 185 195. WINTER STORM
WARNING ZONE 191.
MARINE...STORM WARNING 12B 13.
         GALE WARNING 12A 3AB 2B1 2C4.
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING 13 15 6AB 3AC 2B1 2C4.

FIRE WEATHER...DONE

SAM JAN 03

Event by event

5 blizzard, 3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Western Aleutians

When: January 6, 2:43 AM AST to 9:30 PM AST
Where: Western Aleutians forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Western Aleutians

When: January 6, 2:43 AM AST to 9:30 PM AST
Where: Western Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Pribilof Islands

When: January 7, 2:34 AM AST to 5:30 PM AST
Where: Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Alaska Peninsula

When: January 7, 4:45 AM AST to 11:00 AM AST
Where: Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Eastern Aleutians

When: January 7, 6:58 AM AST to 4:38 PM AST
Where: Eastern Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 68 kt (78 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When: January 7, 10:30 AM AST to 5:30 PM AST
Where: Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Bristol Bay

When: January 7, 12:00 PM AST to January 8, 5:00 AM AST
Where: Bristol Bay forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Kuskokwim Delta

When: January 7, 11:15 PM AST to January 8, 8:15 AM AST
Where: Kuskokwim Delta 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.
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, 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: 5338706, 5338707, 5338710, 5338708, 5338709, 5338711, 5338712, 5338713.