Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 6 to 7, 2004

Name: Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, January 6 to 7, 2004
Start: 2004-01-06T04:00
End: 2004-01-07T21:00
Location: Alaska

January 6 to 7, 2004 · NWS AFC · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

Strong high pressure over interior Alaska combined with a rapidly deepening low in the Gulf of Alaska resulted in strong northerly wind across the south central region and northern gulf coast of Alaska. Strong wind is estimated to have reached around 90 mph out of the Copper River Delta based upon satellite interpretation and the magnitude of the wind observations in and around the north gulf coast. The north wind reached 86 mph in the Palmer and Wasilla area as a result of the channeling down the Matanuska Valley. Drifting snow and sand resulted in the derailment of the Alaska Railroad train at the junction of the Parks Highway resulting in closing the Parks Highway for several hours. The northerly wind peaked at 64 mph over Fire Island, just west of Anchorage International Airport. As the low in the Gulf of Alaska moved to the west it brought moderate to heavy snow to Kodiak island along with winds gusting 30 to 40 mph causing a blizzard over the Island for over 3 hours on the afternoon of the 7th.

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 5, 9:00 PM AST, 7 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 5, 9:00 PM AST, 7 hours before

SOUTH/SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
900 PM AST MON JAN 5 2004

.DISCUSSION...UPPER LEVEL HIGH CENTER POSITIONING ITSELF OVER THE
CHUKOTSK PENINSULA AS SHORT WAVE TROUGH PUSHING THROUGH THE INTERIOR
TONIGHT. THE BIG STORY REMAINS THE STRONG WINDS ANTICIPATED OVER
SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA BEGINNING LATER TONIGHT AND REMAINING POSSIBLY
INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. LATEST RUN HAS STRONGEST WINDS AT ALL LEVELS
A BIT FARTHER WEST TO LINE UP MORE WITH THE JET CORE OVER WESTERN
ALASKA, THE JET CORE IS CURRENTLY FROM BARROW TO DENALI...BUT BY
WEDNESDAY MORNING WILL BE ORIENTED NORTH SOUTH FROM BARROW TO BETHEL.
GOOD TEMP ADVECTION WITH SHORT WAVE AND A STRONGER SURFACE PRESSURE
GRADIENT DEVELOPS OVER THE SOUTH CENTRAL COAST RATHER THAN ANYWHERE
ELSE. THIS IS DUE TO THE AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IN THE NORTHERN PACIFIC
BEING PULLED NORTHEAST COMBINED WITH THE UPPER LEVEL LOW DROPPING
INTO THE GULF. EVEN WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS ALOFT REMAINING WEST OF
ANCHORAGE...STILL HAVE A VERY FAVORABLE PRESSURE GRADIENT...STRONG
TEMP ADVECTION...STRONG WINDS ALOFT AND A SHORT WAVE MOVING THROUGH.
THEREFORE...FEEL WIND WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES SHOULD WORK OUT JUST
FINE TOMORROW.

UPPER LOW CARVES OUT IN THE GULF WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY AS SURFACE
LOW PICKS UP STRENGTH IN THE WESTERN GULF. THE UPPER HIGH GETS
PINCHED OVER EASTERN SIBERIA BY THIS TIME AS WELL. THEREFORE THE
DOMINANT FEATURE OVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA BECOMES THE COLD UPPER
LEVEL LOW. THE UPPER LEVEL LOW THEN SLOWLY DRIFTS SOUTHWEST ALONG THE
ALEUTIAN CHAIN THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING AND THEN NORTHWEST OVER THE
WEEKEND ENDING UP IN THE NORTHERN BERING BY SUNDAY. AT THE SURFACE
THE LOW FOLLOWS MUCH THE SAME PATH AS IS CHARACTERISTIC OF A DEEP
COLD LOW. PRECIP WILL BE WRAP AROUND THE LOW AS IT MOVES SOUTHWEST
OVER THE ALASKA PENINSULA THURSDAY NIGHT/FRIDAY.

OVER THE WEST...A SERIES OF LOW CENTERS MOVING WEST NORTHWEST THROUGH
THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN ALEUTIAN KEEPING THE PRESSURE GRADIENT
FAVORABLE FOR MODERATE TO STRONG SOUTHEAST WINDS. IN ADDITION...THE
ARCTIC COLD FRONT WHICH WILL PUSH THROUGH CENTRAL ALASKA TONIGHT AND
TUESDAY WILL MOVE ALL THE WAY PASSED THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS WEDNESDAY.
THIS WILL KEEP WINDS STRONG FROM THE EAST/NORTHEAST. SHOWERS WILL BE
ON THE DECREASE TUESDAY AFTERNOON AS THE LAST OF THE NORTH PACIFIC
LOWS LIFTS NORTHWEST TO EASTERN SIBERIA DUE TO THE PROGRESSION OF THE
COLD LOW OVER THE GULF. SHOWER ACTIVITY BEYOND THIS TIME FRAME WILL
BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SLOW PROGRESSION OF THE COLD LOW.

.AFC...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING LATE TONIGHT THRU WED ZONE 145
         HIGH WIND WARNING TUE THRU WED ZONES 101 111 131 135
         HIGH WIND WARNING TUE AND TUE NIGHT ZONE 151
MARINE...STORM 3AC 4
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 3AC 4 4A
         GALE 2B1 2BC 2C4 3B 4A 5AB 6AB 8 12AB 13 15
FIRE WEATHER...NONE

JN JAN 04

Event by event

4 high wind, 1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Nern P.W. Snd

When: January 6, 4:00 AM AST to January 7, 4:00 AM AST
Where: Nern P.W. Snd forecast zone
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Sern P.W. Snd

When: January 6, 4:00 AM AST to January 7, 9:00 PM AST
Where: Sern P.W. Snd forecast zone
Measured: 78 kt (90 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: January 6, 1:00 PM AST to 2:00 PM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Matanuska Valley

When: January 6, 2:30 PM AST to January 7, 10:00 AM AST
Where: Matanuska Valley forecast zone
Measured: 75 kt (86 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Kodiak Peninsula

When: January 7, 12:30 PM AST to 4:00 PM AST
Where: Kodiak Peninsula forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
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: 5381923, 5381924, 5381921, 5381922, 5381925.