Blizzard in Alaska, January 27 to 29, 2004

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, January 27 to 29, 2004
Start: 2004-01-27T04:00
End: 2004-01-29T04:00
Location: Alaska

January 27 to 29, 2004 · NWS AJK · 3 events in 1 county or zone

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 AJK wrote it up.

A tight northeasterly pressure gradient caused strong winds to blow over the White Pass region on the Klondike Highway. Alaska Department of Transportation Officials estimated north-northeast 25-35 mph winds gusting to 50 mph at times. Light falling snow combined with blowing snow to reduce visibilities to near zero off and on for several days. Wind chill temperatures during this time were in the minus 30 to minus 40 degree range and could have caused serious harm to stranded travelers. Fortunately enough warning helped the AKDOT close the Pass during the Blizzard.

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 Juneau, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 27, 2:45 AM AST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 2:45 AM AST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
245 AM AST TUE JAN 27 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...SPLIT FLOW WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE EASTERN PAC AND
NW NOAM THRU WED...WITH SOUTHERN STREAM GRADUALLY BECOMING MORE
DOMINANT. THIS WILL LEAD TO A SLOW MODERATION OF THE COLD AIRMASS
ACROSS THE AREA. SFC HIGH OVER NW CANADA WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN.
ATTM...BAND OF CLOUDS ASSOC WITH SHORTWAVE OVER THE GULF IS
ACROSS THE SOUTH HALF OF THE AREA...AND WILL LIKELY MAKE SLIGHT
PROGRESS NORTH TODAY. PRECIP WILL BE LIMITED TO THE FAR SOUTH AND
COASTAL AREA SOUTH OF SITKA THRU WED...WITH HIGHEST THREAT IN
ZONE 27. TOTAL SNOWFALL MAY BE UP TO 3 INCHES IN THESE AREAS BY
LATE TONIGHT.

SHORTWAVE WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS DIXON ENTRANCE THIS EVENING AND
PRECIP THREAT WILL DROP LATE TONIGHT ONCE IT GOES INLAND. ANOTHER
SYSTEM WILL MOVE NE TOWARD THE SOUTHERN AREA WED...BUT PRECIP
SHOULD HOLD OFF FOR THE MOST PART UNTIL AFTER THE DAYLIGHT HOURS
WED. CANNOT RULE OUT A FEW FLURRIES AT ANY TIME OVER THE SOUTH
THOUGH DUE TO WEAK LOW-LEVEL OVERRUNNING.

WINDS ACROSS THE AREA HAVE DECREASED A BIT...ESPECIALLY THE TAKU
WINDS IN THE JUNEAU AREA. ATTM...HAVE OUT WIND ADVYS FOR ALL BUT
ZONES 23..27..AND 28 THRU TONIGHT...AND LEFT ADVY GOING FOR ZONE
18 THRU WED. LEFT WIND CHILL ADVY FOR THIS MORNING FOR ZONE 18
AND 19 ALSO. TEMPS WILL GRADUALLY RISE...SO EXPECT WIND CHILLS TO
REMAIN ABOVE ADVY LEVELS AFTER NOON.

.LONG RANGE...GRADUAL WARMING TREND CONTINUES INTO THU...BUT
STILL MAINLY OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA. PRECIP MAINLY
CONFINED TO SOUTHERN HALF ALSO AS WEAK LOW OUT OF SOUTHERN BRANCH
OF UPPER FLOW MOVES THROUGH DIXON ENTRANCE. COLD AIR LOCKED IN
OVER NORTHERN ZONES...ALTHOUGH TEMPS MODERATING SOME FROM AN
INCREASE IN HIGH CLOUDS. FLOW PATTERN REALLY BEGINS TO CHANGE
INTO WEEKEND AS DEEP LOW CENTER MOVES UP ALONG ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
AND SOUTHWEST FLOW RETURNS TO THE GULF. THAT PUSHES FRONT AND
WARMER AIR INTO THE PANHANDLE SAT AND WILL BE THE END TO THIS
ARCTIC OUTBREAK. SNOW INITIALLY FOR NORTHERN ZONES SAT UNTIL
SWITCH TO SOUTHERLY WINDS CAUSES SWITCH TO RAIN THROUGH SAT
NIGHT/SUN. LOW CENTER CONTINUES NORTHEAST TRACK INTO SOUTHERN
INTERIOR AND KEEPS WARMER AIR MOVING INTO THE GULF THROUGH EARLY
NEXT WEEK.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...WIND ADVYS...ALL ZONES EXCEPT 23..27..AND 28 ...WIND
CHILL ADVY...ZONE 18 AND 19 THIS MORNING
MARINE...GALE...PKZ012-013-021-022-031-032-034>036-041>043-051-
052-310 ...HVY FRZG SPRY WRNG...ALL INNER CHANNELS AND PKZ043-051
...SCA...ALL REMAINING ZONES

Event by event

3 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway

When: January 27, 4:00 AM AST to 1:00 PM AST
Where: Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Blizzard, Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway

When: January 28, 2:00 AM AST to 9:00 AM AST
Where: Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Blizzard, Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway

When: January 28, 8:00 PM AST to January 29, 4:00 AM AST
Where: Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

What these are

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, 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: 5387561, 5387634, 5387635.