Cold in Alaska, February 26 to 28, 2004

Name: Cold in Alaska, February 26 to 28, 2004
Start: 2004-02-26T21:03
End: 2004-02-28T08:55
Location: Alaska

February 26 to 28, 2004 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Moderate winds combined with a cold airmass produced extreme wind chills at Point Lay; -70 F was the lowest recorded.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

Moderate winds combined with a cold airmass produced extreme wind chills at Point Lay; -70 F was the lowest recorded.

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 26, 3:25 PM AST, 5 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 26, 3:25 PM AST, 5 hours 38 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
325 PM AST THU FEB 26 2004

.DISCUSSION...

ALOFT...A 507 DM CLOSED LOW OVER THE CENTRAL BERING SEA IS THE
MAIN WEATHER FEATURE ALOFT THIS AFTERNOON.  A RIDGE EXTENDS FROM
THE NORTH CENTRAL PACIFIC OCEAN THROUGH THE CENTER OF ALASKA AND A
TROUGH ALMOST PARALLELS THE ARCTIC COAST.

SURFACE...A WEAKENING LOW PRESSURE IN THE CENTRAL BERING SEA AND
ITS OCCLUDED FRONT ARE SPREADING CLOUDS AND SNOW OVER THE WESTERN
ZONES. THE LIONS SHARE OF THE ACTIVITY SHOULD OCCUR TONIGHT AND AS
THE SYSTEM WEAKENS.  THE REMNANTS OF AN OLD OCCLUSION CONTINUES TO
PRODUCE LIGHT SNOW NEAR BETTLES. MODELS PROVIDE DIFFERENT
SOLUTIONS AS TO THE EVOLUTION OF A LOW ALONG AN OCCLUDED FRONT NOW
MOVING NORTH INTO THE WESTERN ZONES.  WHILE THE STRENGTH AND
TIMING VARY...THERE WILL BE SOME WEAKNESS OVER THE YUKON DELTA
FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY.  NEXT WEEK WILL FEATURE A LOW PRESSURE IN
THE CENTRAL BERING SEA WITH SURFACE RIDGING OVER THE CENTRAL
INTERIOR AND NORTHERN ZONES.

ARCTIC COAST...CALM WEATHER CONTINUES ACROSS THE ARCTIC COAST AS
THE TROUGH ALOFT IS PROVIDING LOW HEIGHTS BUT NO SUPPORT FOR
PRECIPITATION. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN IN THE -15 TO -25 RANGE
THROUGH THE FORECASTABLE FUTURE.

WESTERN COAST...THE PEPPERING OF LOWS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE
WEEKEND WITH BOUTS OF SNOW AND WIND.  THE NEXT LOW WHICH WILL TAKE
UP RESIDENCE IN THE BERING SEA THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK
WILL INCREASE THE WINDS AT THE VERY LEAST WITH PERIODS OF SNOW.

INTERIOR...AS DYING OCCLUSIONS MOVE ACROSS THE ALASKA
RANGE...AREAS OF HIGH CLOUDS WILL MOVE ACROSS THE INTERIOR. ANY
SNOW WOULD BE LIGHT.  AS SOUTHERLY FLOW SETS UP ACROSS THE ALASKA
RANGE NEXT WEEK IN RESPONSE TO THE LOW IN THE BERING
SEA...TEMPERATURES WILL MODERATE TO INTO THE 20S SOUTH OF THE
BROOKS RANGE.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...BLIZZARD WARNING...ZONE 213 (SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND)
         BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY...ZONE 214 (CAPE ROMANZOF AREA)
         WIND CHILL ADVISORY...ZONE 201
MARINE...BRISK WIND ADVISORY...9B 10B 11A

AT FEB 04

Event by event

1 cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Cold/Wind Chill, Western Arctic Coast

When: February 26, 9:03 PM AST to February 28, 8:55 AM AST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Cold/Wind Chill: Cold or wind chill below warning criteria that caused deaths, injuries or damage.

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: 5381568.