A high pressure ridge over the interior (1030+mb) and a sub 980mb low tracking southeast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, resulted in a strong offshore pressure gradient developing on this date. Gusty northeasterly gap winds developed over the passes and down the river drainages of the Inside Passage.
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.
The episode as NWS AJK wrote it up.
A high pressure ridge over the interior (1030+mb) and a sub 980mb low tracking southeast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, resulted in a strong offshore pressure gradient developing on this date. Gusty northeasterly gap winds developed over the passes and down the river drainages of the Inside Passage. Taku winds developed in the downtown Juneau and Douglas areas. Peak wind gusts included a 79 mph gust on the South Douglas Island sensor and a 64 mph gust at the Juneau Rock Dump. Fortunately only minor damage was reported.
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 6, 10:45 AM AST, 11 hours 15 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1045 AM AST TUE JAN 6 2004
.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE... ONSET OF CLOUDS AT EITHER END OF FORECAST
DOMAIN IS BEGINNING TODAY AND IS ENDING THE CLEAR SKIES REGIMINE.
THE SOUTHERN CLOUD MASS IS DISCUSSED FIRST AS THE WINTER STORM
WATCHES FOR HEAVY SNOW ARE LIKELY TO VERIFY. HEAVY SNOW
NORTHERN 27 THROUGH 29 AND ALL ZONE 26 SHOULD OCCUR WED.
SOUTHERN CLOUD MASS...GOES IR LOOP SHOWS NORTHERN EDGE OF
CLOUD MASS MOVING N OVER ZONES 27 THROUGH 29 AT THIS TIME.
ONSET OF SNOW AT SANDSPIT AT 18Z IS GOOD MATCH FOR ETA.
SNOWFALL METHODS BASED ON ETA CONSISTENT WITH HEAVY SNOW
EVENT BEGINING AT 12Z TONIGHT EXCEPT WITHIN 30 NM OF DIXON
ENTRANCE THAT WILL ALREADY BE CHANGING TO RAIN DUE TO THE
WARM SECTOR OF APPROACHING FROM THE SOUTH.
NORTHWESTERN CLOUD MASS...IS THE ONSET OF MIDDLE CLOUDS OVER YAKUTAT
ZONE 17 AT THIS TIME. A STRONG VORT MAX TRACKED SOUTHWEST FROM OVER
FORT YUKON TO OVER ANCHORAGE AT THIS TIME. THE VORT MAX
WILL TRACK OVER GULF TODAY AND DEVELOP A SURFACE LOW OF ABOUT
1000 MB 100 NM SE OF MIDDLETON BY 00Z WED...THIS LOW WILL NOT BE
CLOSED TO MORE THAN 2 MB AT THE SURFACE BUT WILL HAVE A SYNOPTIC
SCALE CYCLONIC FLOW AT HEIGHTS ABOVE THE 850 MB LEVEL. YAKUTAT
.LONG RANGE...UPR TROF ACRS THE SERN INTR AND NRN GLF AK WL CONT
TO DVLP AS IT DRFTS WWD ACRS THE AK PEN AND OVR BRISTOL BAY BY
FRI MRNG. THE UPR LOW WL CONT ON EWD AND WKN OVR THE SRN BERING
SEA THRU SUN.
AS THE UPR LOW MOVS WWD A L/W UPR RDG WL BLD ACRS NW CAN ALSO
THRU FRI. A S/W UPR TROF WL MOV NEWD ACRS THE NRN BC CST FRI AND
A SCND STGR S/W UPR TROF WL NEWD OVR SE AK SUN NGT OR MON.
THERE WL BE A SFC HI OVR THE BERING STS WED AFTN THAT WL WKN SAT.
A RDG XTNDG SEWD ACRS THE NRN INTR AK AND OVR NNW CAN WL CONT TO
WKN RPDLY THRU FRI.
A SFC LOW OVR THE SWRN GFL AK WL CONT TO DVLP UNDR UPR LOW AND
BCM THE DMNT FEATURE OVR THE GLF AK THU. A SFC LOW ASSOCD W/ THE
FIRST UPR S/W TROF WL MOV OVR THE NRN BC CST THRU WED EVENG AND
DRFT NWD THRU THU. THIS LOW HAS STG 850MB SUPPORT THAT XTNDS
UPWD THRU 500MB. THIS UPR TROF WL ROT ARND MAIN GLF AK LOW AND
MOV OVR NW CAN THRU THU. THE RSLTS WL BE ALL SE AK WL HAV SWLY
FLOW AT ALL UPR LVLS FM 850MB TO ABV 500MB THU NGT OR FRI MRNG.
AS THE SCND S/W UPR TROF DVLPS AND MOV NEWD A STG SFC LOW WL DVLP
OVR THE N PAC AND MOV NWD OVR THE CNTRL GLF AK THRU SUN. THIS
SYS SHLD PUSH SGFNT AMNTS OF WRM AIR OVR ALL SE AK AND ERN GLF
CST. IT SHLD ALSO DVLP INTO THE LOW 970MBS. AFTWD THERE IS A
CONT SERIES OF LOWS MOVG NWD OVR THE GLF AK.
.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WATCH ZONES 18...25 FOR TONIGHT AND WED
...WINTER STORM WATCH ZONES 26>29 WED AND WED NIGHT
MARINE...GALES...ALL AREAS.1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2004
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: 5387547.