Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 15, 2004
Start: 2004-02-15T08:55
End: 2004-02-15T22:55
Location: Alaska

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.

Weak overrunning of a cold airmass lying across the central interior produced locally heavy snow amounts.Zone 222: Eielson received 7.5 inches; a North Pole cooperative observer reported 6.0 inches. Snow began around 1800 AST on the 14th. Other reports from the Fairbanks area were less than 4 inches generally.Zone 216:Galena cooperative weather observer reported 6.0 inches. Snow began around 1800 AST 14th.

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 15, 6:00 AM AST, 2 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 15, 6:00 AM AST, 2 hours 55 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
600 AM AST SUN FEB 15 2004

.DISCUSSION...

OCCLUDED FRONT DRAPED EAST WEST ACROSS THE STATE HAS RESULTED IN
LIGHT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH THE INTERIOR.  THIS FRONT
SHOULD NOT MAKE ANY FURTHER NORTHWARD PROGRESS AS HIGH PRESSURE
OVER THE ARCTIC OCEAN SLIDES SOUTHEAST INTO WESTERN CANADA. THE
BEST 850 THERMAL PACKING WILL LIE FROM CHICKEN NORTHWEST TO THE
FORT YUKON AREA TODAY.  THIS MAY PROVIDE THE FOCUS FOR STEADIER
LIGHT SNOW BUT THE SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DIMINISH AS THE FRONT
DISSIPATES.

AS THE HIGH CLIPS THE NORTHEASTERN PORTION OF THE STATE...COOLER
850 TEMPS WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES FROM FORT YUKON NORTH TO BARTER
ISLAND TO BOTTOM OUT IN THE 40 BELOW RANGE OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS.
WINDS SHOULD BE LIGHT IN THIS AREA BUT IT WILL NOT TAKE MUCH OF AN
INCREASE TO PUSH WIND CHILLS TO ADVISORY LEVELS.

AS A LOW IN THE BERING SEA SLOWLY WEAKENS...WINDS WILL DIMINISH
ALONG THE WESTERN COAST BUT THERE IS STILL A CHANCE OF SNOW
SHOWERS OVER THE MARINE ZONES TOWARD ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND.

TEMPERATURES WILL DIP BACK TO MORE NORMAL LEVELS EARLY IN THE WEEK
AS AN UPPER TROUGH SWINGS THROUGH THE EASTERN BEAUFORT SEA.  AS
THIS PULLS OUT TO THE EAST...A RIDGE WILL BUILD INTO EASTERN
ALASKA BY THE WEEKEND.  THIS WILL FORCE ANY LOWS IN THE NORTHERN
GULF OF ALASKA DUE NORTH ALONG THE WEST COAST.  THE RESULTANT
SOUTHERLY FLOW WILL ALLOW TEMPERATURES TO CREEP UP NEXT WEEKEND.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WIND CHILL ADVISORY...204
         WIND ADVISORY...207 (POINT HOPE AREA)/ 208 (HILLS)/ 217
MARINE...BRISK WIND ADVISORY...9B 10B

AT FEB 04

Event by event

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Middle Tanana Valley

When: February 15, 8:55 AM AST to 10:55 PM AST
Where: Middle Tanana Valley forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Heavy Snow, Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys

When: February 15, 3:00 PM AST to 6:00 PM AST
Where: Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys 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

More

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: 5381560, 5381561.