Ice Storm and High Wind in Alaska, February 10, 2004

Name: Ice Storm and High Wind in Alaska, February 10, 2004
Start: 2004-02-10T09:00
End: 2004-02-10T20:00
Location: Alaska

February 10, 2004 · NWS AFC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

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 AFC wrote it up.

An intense low moved north along the Bering Sea coast Monday night through Through Tuesday night. The resultant extreme pressure gradient across south central Alaska coupled with rapidly rising pressure along the North Gulf Coast produced the extremely high wind across the coastal mountains. The strong southerly flow pushed ample moisture across the Chugach Mountains into the Copper River Basin over the entrenched arctic air. This resulted in areas of heavy freezing rain from Thompson Pass to the Glennallen area Wednesday morning until the early afternoon.

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 Feb 10, 6:30 AM AST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 10, 6:30 AM AST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHWEST ALASKA
630 AM AST TUE FEB 10 2004

.DISCUSSION...

ANALYSIS...IR SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS A LOW AROUND 965 MB TRACKING
SOUTH OF KODIAK ISLAND AND OVER TO BRISTOL BAY. STRONG WINDS OF
40 TO 70 MPH ACROSS THE BRISTOL BAY REGION AND SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA.
STRONGEST WINDS CURRENTLY ALONG NORTH GULF COAST...SHELIKOF
STRAIT...AND KAMISHAK BAY. ANCHORAGE TO WHITTIER PRESSURE GRADIENT
STEADILY RISING. EXPECT WINDS TO REACH WARNING LEVELS THROUGH PORTAGE
VALLEY AND TURNAGAIN ARM WITHIN THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS. RADAR SHOWS
WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION FROM PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND REGION TO COOK
INLET AS WELL AS SOUTHWEST ALASKA. BANDS OF HEAVY PRECIP OBSERVED
FROM KODIAK ISLAND TO PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND. P-TYPE IS RAIN ALONG THE
IMMEDIATE GULF COAST AND SNOW INLAND. WARM AIR ADVECTION WILL CHANGE
MANY AREAS TO RAIN BY THIS AFTERNOON. AS WITH THE LAST COUPLE STORMS
WILL LIKELY BE ISOLATED AREAS OF FREEZING RAIN INLAND WHERE LOW LEVEL
COLD AIR IS FIRMLY ENTRENCHED AND OUT OF REACH OF THE CHINOOKS.
ELSEWHERE...OLD LOW OVER WESTERN BERING RESULTING IN SHOWERS AND
LITTLE IN THE WAY OF WIND.

FORECAST...00Z MODEL SOLUTIONS FROM GFS/ETA/UKMET FAIRLY SIMILAR ON
CURRENT LOW. GFS BETTER WITH DEPTH OF LOW. IT WILL QUICKLY TRACK OFF
TO THE NORTHWEST TODAY AND REACH THE VICINITY OF THE BERING STRAIT
BY WED MORNING. NEXT MAJOR LOW TO AFFECT AOR IS CURRENTLY LOCATED
AT 40N 172W. MODELS ALSO REASONABLY CLOSE WITH THIS LOW WITH GFS THE
STRONGEST OF THE THREE SOLUTIONS. PREDOMINANT THREAT WILL AGAIN BE
WINDS. WITH TRACK FURTHER WEST THAN CURRENT LOW...EXPECT STRONGEST
WINDS FROM SHELIKOF STRAIT TO EASTERN BERING AND ALONG THE ALASKA
PENINSULA. LOOKING OUT THROUGH THE EXTENDED FORECAST PERIOD...U.S.
WEST COAST RIDGE HOLDS IN PLACE AND STORMS KEEP ON ROLLING IN.

.ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...GALES 5AB 6AB 13B.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

SEB FEB 04

Event by event

2 high wind, 1 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Copper River Basin

When: February 10, 9:00 AM AST to 4:00 PM AST
Where: Copper River Basin forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

High Wind, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns

When: February 10, 12:30 PM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where: Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 73 kt (84 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: February 10, 1:23 PM AST to 8:00 PM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured: 106 kt (122 mph) measured gust
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.
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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, February 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: 5381576, 5381575, 5381574.