Alaska, 2004Tornado in Alaska, June 18, 2004
June 18, 2004 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone
1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
Open the live radar over this ground
- 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 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 Jun 18, 10:45 AM AST, 6 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 10:45 AM AST, 6 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHWEST ALASKA
1145 AM ADT FRI JUN 18 2004
.DISCUSSION...UPPER LEVEL TROUGH EXTENDING FROM THE EASTERN BERING
SOUTH INTO THE NORTHERN PACIFIC SHEARING APART TODAY AS A STRONG LOW
PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES INTO THE WESTERN ALEUTIAN CHAIN. THIS LOW TO
SETTLE INTO THE BERING SEA BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE LOW WILL LIFT
NORTH WHEN ANOTHER LOW MOVES INTO THE ALEUTIAN CHAIN FRIDAY.
OVERALL...TROUGHINESS IS EXPECTED IN THE BERING SEA REGION WHILE A
RIDGE REMAINS OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA AND INTERIOR.
HIGH PRESSURE TO BECOME ESTABLISHED OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA AND
REMAIN OVER THE AREA THROUGH MID WEEK. A THERMAL TROUGH WILL DEVELOP
OVER THE INTERIOR THIS WEEKEND. THIS FEATURE SHOULD HELP TO INITIATE
AFTERNOON AND EVENING CONVECTION MAINLY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. EXPECT
SOME OF THESE SHOWERS TO ROLL INTO THE VALLEYS IN THE EVENING. THE
THERMAL TROUGH IS PUSHED FARTHER INLAND AND INTO CANADA EARLY NEXT
WEEK AS THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE BUILDS OVER THE INTERIOR. SOME AREAS OF
FOG ARE EXPECTED AGAIN TONIGHT ALONG THE COAST...SOUND AND INLET. BUT
DRYING OVER THE WEEKEND WILL BEGIN TO ERODE THE CHANCE OF FOG.
ANYWAY...WARMER TEMPS ARE ON TAP FOR THE INTERIOR AND SOUTH CENTRAL
ALASKA. FOR FIRE WEATHER...DRIER CONDITIONS AND LIGHT WINDS ARE
EXPECTED.
SURFACE TROUGH OVER THE EASTERN ALEUTIAN CHAIN TO WRAP NORTHWEST INTO
THE LOW IN THE WESTERN ALEUTIAN TONIGHT. THE WESTERN ALEUTIAN LOW
WILL SLOWLY MOVE INTO THE SOUTHERN BERING SEA THIS WEEKEND THEN MOVE
NORTH MID WEEK. RAIN END ACROSS SOUTHWEST ALASKA TONIGHT. SOME
SHOWERS TO REMAIN ON THE UPSLOPE SIDE OF THE ALEUTIAN CHAIN. STRONG
WINDS AND LOTS OF PRECIP TO ACCOMPANY THE LOW IN THE WESTERN
ALEUTIANS. RAIN TO BECOME MORE SCATTERED IN NATURED AS THE LOW
WEAKENS OVER THE WEEKEND. JET TO PUSH AROUND THE SOUTH END OF THIS
LOW SUNDAY NIGHT/MONDAY AND DEEPEN LOW BEFORE IT MOVES NORTH ALONG
THE COAST OF WESTERN ALASKA THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. ANOTHER LOW TO
DROP INTO THE BERING SEA BEHIND THE FIRST LOW BY MID WEEK.
RIDGE OVER THE INTERIOR TO BE PUSHED A BIT FARTHER EAST MAKING THE
INTERIOR A BIT WARMER AND BRINGING SOME MORE HIGH CLOUDS EARLY NEXT
WEEK. DO NOT EXPECT ANY SHOWER ACTIVITY TO CROSS THE ALASKA RANGE.
.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE
MARINE...GALE 12B 13A 13B BERING SEA
FIRE WEATHER...NONE
JN JUN 04
.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...
MARINE...
FIRE WEATHER...
*** JUN 04
Tornado, Kuskokwim Delta
- When
- June 18, 5:30 PM AST to 5:32 PM AST
- Where
- Kuskokwim Delta County, 60 mi W of Bethel
- Rating
- F0
- Reported by
- AIRPLANE PILOT
- Coordinates
- 60.800, -163.533
A Pilot flying into Bethel reported seeing a funnel cloud 60 NM west of Bethel. The pilot altered course to take a closer look at the funnel cloud and observed a tornado with swirling water and dust at the ground. The tornado was on the ground for approximately 2 minutes before lifting back into the cloud deck. This tornado occurred in an uninhabited area and did not result in any damage.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Damaging Wind and Lightning Strikes in Georgia, June 18, 2004$151,000 · 3 events
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, June 18, 2004$110,000 · 1.75 in hail · 6 events
- Lightning Strike in Texas, June 18, 2004$50,000 · 1 event
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Kansas, June 18, 2004$29,000 · 56 kt wind · 8 events
- Flash Flood and Hail in Texas, June 18 to 19, 2004$35,000 · 1.75 in hail · 4 events
- Flash Flood and High Wind in Utah, June 18, 2004$30,000 · 60 kt wind · 2 events
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, June 18 to 19, 20042 in hail · 22 events
- Damaging Wind in Washington, June 18, 2004$25,000 · 1 event
- Hail in Colorado, June 18 to 19, 20041.75 in hail · 10 events
- Lightning Strike in Arkansas, June 18, 20041 injured · 1 event
- Hail in Colorado, June 18, 20040.75 in hail · 7 events
- Tornado and Hail in Colorado, June 18, 2004F0 · 6 events
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: 5395392.