Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 26, 2004

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 26, 2004
Start: 2004-01-26T03:00
End: 2004-01-26T23:53
Location: Alaska

January 26, 2004 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A storm southwest of the Gulf of Alaska pushed moist air over the arctic front in the Homer area. This produced 12 inches of snow for the peak of the snow event over Seldovia by noon Monday.

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 AFC wrote it up.

A storm southwest of the Gulf of Alaska pushed moist air over the arctic front in the Homer area. This produced 12 inches of snow for the peak of the snow event over Seldovia by noon Monday. In Homer, snowfall accumulated to 8 inches before tapering off in the 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 Jan 25, 12:00 PM AST, 15 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 25, 12:00 PM AST, 15 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHWEST ALASKA
1200 PM AST SUN JAN 25 2004

.DISCUSSION...

THE UPPER HIGH OVER NORTHWEST ALASKA WILL MOVE JUST NORTH OF THE
CHUKCHI SEA MONDAY AND WILL STAY THERE THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT. A UPPER
TROUGH OVER THE SOUTHERN YUKON TERRITORY AND COPPER RIVER BASIN WILL
EXTEND WEST ACROSS SOUTHERN ALASKA TONIGHT AND MONDAY AND WILL FILL
OVER WESTERN ALASKA TUESDAY.

THE SURFACE HIGH OVER THE YUKON TERRITORY WILL PERSIST THROUGH
TUESDAY. THE RIDGE ACROSS CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST ALASKA WILL ALSO
PERSIST THROUGH TUESDAY.

A EAST TO SOUTHEAST FLOW ACROSS THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL INCREASE
TONIGHT AND MONDAY. ONSHORE FLOW ON THE EAST SIDE OF KODIAK ISLAND
AND THE KENAI PENINSULA WILL PRODUCT AREAS OF SNOW ALONG THE EAST
SIDE OF TERRAIN AND PARTS OF PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND TONIGHT THROUGH
TUESDAY.

THIS EASTERLY FLOW WILL ALSO KEEP THE ALASKA PENINSULA IN OCCASIONAL
RAIN THROUGH TONIGHT.

STRONG WINDS COMING OUT OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY WILL BEGIN TO
DIMINISH LATE TONIGHT.

A 980 MB LOW 150 MILES SOUTH OF ADAK WILL MOVE TO NEAR ADAK TONIGHT
AND TO NEAR SHEMYA AND DEEPEN TO 968 MB MONDAY AFTERNOON. A WEAKENING
FRONT ACROSS THE SOUTHERN BERING SEAS, NEAR DUTCH HARBOR AND
SOUTHWARD WILL DISSIPATE INTO A TROUGH ACROSS THE ALASKA PENINSULA
AND SOUTH OF THE GULF OF ALASKA MONDAY.

EAST WINDS WILL INTENSIFY OVER THE BERING SEA TONIGHT AND MONDAY THEN
DIMINISH OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF ON TUESDAY EXCEPT IN VICINITY OF THE
LOW.

.AER...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...SEE MARINE FORECASTS.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

NM JAN 04

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Kenai Peninsula

When: January 26, 3:00 AM AST to 11:53 PM AST
Where: Kenai Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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

Every storm in Alaska in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, January 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: 5381930.