Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, December 24 to 25, 2004

Name: Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, December 24 to 25, 2004
Start: 2004-12-24T02:00
End: 2004-12-25T06:00
Location: Alaska

December 24 to 25, 2004 · NWS AFC · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

Strong high pressure over interior Alaska and a moderate storm in the Gulf of Alaska combined to produce strong gusty north wind over Kodiak Island to the northern Susitna Valley, northern Prince William sound and out of the Copper River Delta Friday afternoon, December 24th, through Saturday morning. The peak measured wind was of 93 mph in Thompson pass 11 pm December 24th. Reports from the Alaska State Trooper were of blizzard conditions in Broad Pass, north of Talkeetna, with snow drifts of 4 feet closing the highway until December 26th. The combination of the high wind and blowing snow also produce blizzard conditions in Thompson Pass Friday night into Saturday morning. The wind peaked at 94 mph at the Sealand Terminal in Kodiak at 830 am December 24th. The strong winds in Kodiak city resulted in damage to many building and also tipped a buoy being prepared to be deployed damaging it.

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 Dec 23, 12:40 PM AST, 13 hours 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 12:40 PM AST, 13 hours 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA
1240 PM AST THU DEC 23 2004

.DISCUSSION...STRONG COLD FRONT CROSSING THE ALASKA RANGE THIS
MORNING MAY NOT BE THE PRECIPITATION PRODUCER EARLIER THOUGHT BUT
WITH THE STRONG UPPER SUPPORT WILL LEAVE THE SNOWFALL FORECASTS RIDE
AT LEAST UNTIL THE NEXT FORECAST SET COMES OUT THIS AFTERNOON. BEHIND
THE FRONT TEMPERATURES WILL FALL MARKEDLY ACROSS COOK INLET/SUSITNA
VALLEY JUST AS THEY HAVE DONE OUT IN THE WESTERN ZONES LAST 12-18
HOURS.

70 KT SHIP REPORT IN AREA 5A ALONG WITH CURRENT SITKINAK AND
AUGUSTINE REPORTS SUGGEST GALES IN THOSE AREAS ARE UNDERDONE SO
KICKED THOSE MARINE AREAS UP TO STORMS WITH HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY AS
TEMPERATURES CRASH.

FRONT TO SLOWLY PUSH EASTWARD OVER THE COPPER RIVER BASIN AND NORTH
GULF COAST TONIGHT THIS WILL INCREASE CHANCES FOR SNOW IN ZONE 141
AND FINALLY CUT THE RAIN OFF AT VALDEZ AND SURROUNDING AREAS AFTER
CHANGING OVER TO SNOW.

BERING SEA RIDGE WILL CONTINUE THE NICER CONDITIONS NOW OBSERVED AT
BOTH ST PAUL..ST GEORGE..AND UNALASKA. LIGHT SNOWS FROM LEFT OVER LOW
LEVEL MOISTER SHOULD CONTINUE TO DIMINISH THROUGHOUT THE DAY. WIND
WILL BECOME LIGHT OVER THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS THIS AFTERNOON.

SURFACE RIDGE TO BUILD INTO THE CENTRAL INTERIOR TONIGHT AND FRI
RESULTING IN STRONG WINDS FOR SEWARD..WHITTIER..VALDEZ AND THE COPPER
RIVER DELTA FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT.

NEXT BERING FRONT WITH ASSOCD STORMS MOVES TO THE CENTRAL BERING FRI
MORNING FOR A BIG INCREASE IN WINDS FOR THE PRIBILOFS AND EASTERN
ALEUTIANS STARTING SOMETIME FRI MORNING.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WATCH PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND AND NORTH GULF COAST
FRIDAY
MARINE...STORMS AREA 5A AND 3A 3B 3C 13..12.

PERCY DEC 04

Event by event

3 high wind, 2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Kodiak Peninsula

When: December 24, 2:00 AM AST to 4:00 PM AST
Where: Kodiak Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 82 kt (94 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Nern P.W. Snd

When: December 24, 1:00 PM AST to December 25, 2:00 AM AST
Where: Nern P.W. Snd forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Nern P.W. Snd

When: December 24, 1:00 PM AST to December 25, 2:00 AM AST
Where: Nern P.W. Snd forecast zone
Measured: 81 kt (93 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Sern P.W. Snd

When: December 24, 1:00 PM AST to December 25, 5:00 AM AST
Where: Sern P.W. Snd forecast zone
Measured: 81 kt (93 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Susitna Valley

When: December 24, 9:00 PM AST to December 25, 6:00 AM AST
Where: Susitna Valley forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, December 2004

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: 5428328, 5428324, 5428325, 5428326, 5428327.