Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 7 to 9, 2004

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 7 to 9, 2004
Start: 2004-01-07T12:00
End: 2004-01-09T01:00
Location: Alaska

January 7 to 9, 2004 · NWS AJK · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 AJK wrote it up.

After several consecutive days with an offshore flow spreading cold air into the Panhandle from Canada, a 982 mb low lifted northward through the central Gulf. The associated front slowly spread a warm, moist airmass up from the south and resulted in a widespread overrunning heavy snow event. Storm snowfall totals included: 14 inches in Hyder, 6" in Ketchikan, 5" in Point Baker, 3" in Hollis, 6" in Petersburg, 8" in Hoonah and Tenakee Springs, 6-12" in the Juneau area, 8-9" in Gustavus and Glacier Bay National Park, 6" in Haines, and 9" at Haines Customs (40 NW Haines Hwy).

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 7, 10:45 AM AST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 10:45 AM AST, 1 hour 15 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1045 AM AST WED JAN 7 2004

.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...HIGH WIND CONDITIONS WILL CHANGE OVER TO
HEAVY SNOW FOR INNER CHANNELS TONIGHT.

MOUNTAIN WAVE HIGH WIND EVENT IN JUNEAU HAS ALREADY VERIFIED
SEVERAL TIMES AT SEA LEVEL BUT THIS TAKU WIND EVENT SHOULD
END BY THIS EVENING.  NC TO GALES IN MARINE PACKAGE.

SNOW EVENT IS COMING IN TWO BANDS WITH THE FIRST BEING
A SNOW ADVISORY EVENT TODAY SOUTH OF FREDERICK SOUND...
A SECOND STRONGER BAND WILL SPREAD NORTH IN THE INNER CHANNELS
TO A HOONAH TO JUNEAU LINE BY 6 AM THU. ETA MODEL ACCEPTED
INCLUDING THE OROGRAPHIC LIFTING THAT BEGINS BY 12Z.

.LONG RANGE...PARENT LOW SW OF KODIAK ISLAND FRIDAY NIGHT
DRIFTING WEST THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND WILL ROTATE A SERIES OF
SMALLER LOWS NORTHWARD THROUGH THE EASTERN GULF OF ALASKA FRIDAY
AND AGAIN ON SUNDAY. A RIDGE AT SURFACE AND ALOFT WILL BUILD
ACROSS WESTERN CANADA OVER THE WEEKEND THEN OVER SE AK AS LOW
PULLS BACK TO WEST MONDAY.

WARM FRONT OVER NORTH CENTRAL PANHANDLE FRIDAY EVENING CONTINUING
NORTH AND FALLING APART OVER YUKON FRIDAY NIGHT. WILL CONTINUE TO
HAVE SNOW IN ADVANCE OF THIS FRONT OVER NORTHERN LYNN CANAL
FRIDAY EVENING WITH ANOTHER 2 OR 3 INCHES POSSIBLE BEFORE WINDS
GO SOUTH. LIGHT RAIN OR MIXED RAIN SNOW ACROSS REMAINDER SE
ALASKA. GRADIENTS MUCH WEAKER AND SHOULD SEE DECREASING WINDS
NORTHERN TWO THIRDS. 988 MB FRONTAL LOW SOUTH OF THE CHARLOTTES
THURSDAY EVENING LIFTS NORTH ACROSS SOUTHERN THIRD FRIDAY
MORNING. WAA WILL ENHANCE RAIN HERE WITH INCREASING SE SMCR FOR
SOUTHERN INNER CHANNELS. 85H WINDS PEAK AROUND 50 KTS THEN
DIMINISH AS LOW MOVES INLAND AND MAY NEED WIND ADVISORY FOR
FRIDAY NIGHT. A 985 MB LOW IN NORTH PACIFIC MOVING NORTH ALONG
142W SAT NIGHT WILL SPREAD GALES AND RAIN TO SOUTHERN OUTER COAST
SAT EVENING AND GALES WITH STORM FORCE GUSTS TO CENTRAL AND
NORTHERN COAST BY SUNDAY MORNING. THIS SYSTEM WILL MAINLY AFFECT
COASTAL AREAS WITH CLOUDS AND LIGHT RAIN LIKELY FOR INNER
CHANNELS. WILL PROBABLY NEED A WIND ADVISORY FOR COASTAL ZONES.
PAYA SHOULD SEE HEAVIEST PRECIP SUNDAY AND EXPECTED TO BE ALL
RAIN.

DRYING FROM EAST OVER NORTHERN HALF EXPECTED MONDAY AS RIDGE
SHIFTS WEST AND NEW LOW MOVES INTO NE PACIFIC. THIS WILL INCREASE
EASTERLY GRADIENTS FOR SMCR AND ALLOW SOME COLDER AIR TO MOVE
BACK INTO INNER CHANNELS. NEXT OCCLUSION WRAPPING INTO DIXON
ENTRANCE MONDAY THAT SHEARS OUT ON TUESDAY. EXPECT RAIN EXCEPT
FOR HYDER WHICH WILL LIKELY BE ALL SNOW.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING ZONE 25 ENDING BY 6 PM
      ...HEAVY SNOW WARNING ZONES 26 THROUGH 27 WILL END FROM
    THE SOUTH THIS EVENING BUT HEAVY SNOW TONIGHT IN ZONES
    21 24-26 WILL GO TO THURSDAY MORNING.
      ...WIND ADVISORY ZONES 18>24-29
      ...SNOW ADVISORY ZONES 20 22 23

MARINE...STORM...051 AND 52
      ...GALE...ALL REMAINDER
      ...HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WRNG...PKZ012
JT/MM

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southern Inner Channels

When: January 7, 12:00 PM AST to 4:00 PM AST
Where: Southern Inner Channels forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island

When: January 8, 3:00 AM AST to 8:00 AM AST
Where: Inner Channels From Kupreanof Island to Etolin Island forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Eastern Chichagof Island

When: January 8, 4:00 AM AST to 8:00 AM AST
Where: Eastern Chichagof Island forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island

When: January 8, 4:00 AM AST to 9:00 AM AST
Where: Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

Heavy Snow, Glacier Bay

When: January 8, 6:00 AM AST to January 9, 1:00 AM AST
Where: Glacier Bay forecast zone
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

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: 5387551, 5387550, 5387548, 5387549, 5387552.