Name: Blizzard in Alaska, March 1 to 3, 2004
Start: 2004-03-01T06:52
End: 2004-03-03T19:54
Location: Alaska

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 AFG wrote it up.

Strong high pressure over the Arctic Ocean of 1054 millibars on the 1st slowly weakened through the 3rd but remained in place and extended southeast into Canada's Northwest Territories. This created a strong pressure gradient which resulted in two periods of blizzard conditions at Point Lay.

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 Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 29, 2:30 PM AST, 16 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 29, 2:30 PM AST, 16 hours 22 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
230 PM AST SUN FEB 29 2004

.DISCUSSION...A FAIRLY TYPICAL LATE-FEB WEATHER PATTERN CONTINUES
TO DOMINATE THE WEATHER OVER NORTHERN ALASKA. A BROAD AREA OF LOW
PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE DOMINATES THE WEATHER OVER THE SOUTHERN
BERING AND WESTERN GULF OF ALASKA WITH STRONG HIGH PRESSURE BOTH
AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT OVER THE HIGH ARCTIC. THE AVN INDICATES
THAT A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES SHOULD MOVE N-WARD OVER THE EASTERN
BERING SEA AND WESTERN ALASKA FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. A SERIES
OF HIGH CENTERS ARE EXPECTED TO BREAK OFF FROM THE MAIN HIGH
CENTER OVER THE HIGH ARCTIC AND MOVE SE-WARD INTO WESTERN CANADA
IN FAIRLY PERSISTENT NW-LY FLOW ALOFT. E-LY FLOW AT THE SURFACE
WITH REMAIN OVER MOST OF NORTHERN ALASKA FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS.  A SHORTWAVE MOVING N-WARD ALONG OUR WEST COAST TONIGHT AND
MON WILL PUSH CLOUDS AND LIGHT SNOW OVER THE WESTERN 1/2 OF
MAINLAND ALASKA. SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN
LIGHT DUE TO A LACK OF MOISTURE. E-LY WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO
INCREASE OVER MANY AREAS ALONG OUR WEST COAST AHEAD OF THIS
SHORTWAVE.

THE WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BECOMING STRONG ENOUGH OVER NORTHWEST
ALASKA AND ALONG THE WESTERN 1/2 OF THE ARCTIC COAST TO PRODUCE
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING SNOW. LOW WIND CHILLS ARE ALSO EXPECTED ALONG
THE WESTERN 1/2 OF THE ARCTIC COAST TONIGHT AND MONDAY BEFORE
TEMPS GRADUALLY WARM UP MON NIGHT AND TUE. THE EASTERN INTERIOR
WILL SEE SOME INCREASE IN CLOUDINESS TONIGHT AND MON, BUT SNOWFALL
IS NOT EXPECTED TO OCCUR DUE TO THE DRYING EFFECTS OF THE ALASKA
RANGE. IN SPITE OF BREAKS IN THE CLOUDS, TEMPS ACROSS THE EASTERN
INTERIOR ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL DUE TO WARMER AIR
THAT IS ADVECTED IN FROM THE SOUTH. ANOTHER SHORTWAVE IS EXPECTED
TO BRING MORE CLOUDS AND A CHANCE FOR SNOW TO THE WESTERN 1/2 OF
MAINLAND ALASKA TUE AND WED WHILE KEEPING TEMPS ELEVATED OVER THE
EASTERN INTERIOR. THE ARCTIC SLOPE IS EXPECTED TO SEE A VERY SLOW
WARMING TREND THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK, BUT TEMPS ARE STILL
EXPECTED TO REMAIN NEAR OR BELOW NORMAL THROUGH THE ENTIRE PERIOD
AS HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS IN PLACE OVER THE HIGH ARCTIC.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...WIND CHILL AND BLOWING SNOW ADVY 201 TONIGHT/MON. WIND
CHILL ADVY 202 TONIGHT/MON. BLOWING SNOW AND WIND ADVY 213
TONIGHT.
MARINE...BWA 9A AND 9B TONIGHT/MON. BWA 10B AND 11A MON.

MP FEB 04

Event by event

2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast

When: March 1, 6:52 AM AST to March 2, 12:53 AM AST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast

When: March 3, 9:53 AM AST to 7:54 PM AST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, March 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: 5388109, 5388110.