Alaska, 2004

Blizzard in Alaska, March 8, 2004

March 8, 2004 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An intense storm over the central and western Aleutians and the associated front produced a combination of high wind and snow across the eastern Bering Sea. Blizzard conditions resulted across the Pribilof Islands during the afternoon of March 8th.

The toll

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 happened

The episode as NWS AFC wrote it up.

An intense storm over the central and western Aleutians and the associated front produced a combination of high wind and snow across the eastern Bering Sea. Blizzard conditions resulted across the Pribilof Islands during the afternoon of March 8th. The wind peaked at 61 mph at Saint George and at 58 mph at Saint Paul.

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 Mar 8, 12:00 PM AST, 2 hours 53 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 12:00 PM AST, 2 hours 53 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHWEST ALASKA
1200 PM AST MON MAR 8 2004

.DISCUSSION...
THE MODEL ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT THOUGH THE CENTRAL PRESSURE LOW THE
MAIN LOW OUT WEST IS A LITTLE DEEPER ON THE AVIATION MODEL THAN THE
ETA MODEL.

THE 964 MB LOW 100 MILES SOUTH OF ATTU WILL MOVE TO 150 MILES
NORTHEAST OF ADAK AND WEAKEN TO 973 MB TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND TO 80
MILES SOUTHEAST OF NUNIVAK ISLAND WITH A 984 MB CENTER WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON. THE FRONT ACROSS THE BERING SEA AND EASTERN ALEUTIANS WILL
MOVE THROUGH THE PRIBILOFS AND THE ALASKA PENINSULA TONIGHT AND
THROUGH BRISTOL BAY AND KODIAK ISLAND TUESDAY. THE FRONT WILL BEGIN
TO WEAKEN OVER THE WESTERN INTERIOR WHILE THE REST OF IT PASSES
THROUGH SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA TUESDAY NIGHT AND WILL DISSIPATE OVER
THE NORTHERN INTERIOR WEDNESDAY.

STRONG WINDS MAINLY AHEAD OF THE FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH THE
PRIBILOFS AND THE ALASKA PENINSULA THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT AND
INTO BRISTOL BAY AND KODIAK ISLAND TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING. GUSTY
WINDS WILL DEVELOP THROUGH GAPS IN THE TERRAIN OVER THE KENAI
PENINSULA, TURNAGAIN ARM AND THE MATANUSKA VALLEY TUESDAY.

SNOW, WHICH WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES, WILL FALL MAINLY ALONG THE EAST
SIDE OF MOUNTAINS AND HIGHER TERRAIN AS THE FRONT APPROACHES AND
BECOME SHOWERS BEHIND THE FRONT.

.AER...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...GALES AREAS 2B..3ABC..4..5AB..6AB..8..12AB..14.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

NM MAR 04

Event by event

1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Pribilof Islands

When
March 8, 2:53 PM AST to 6:53 PM AST
Where
Pribilof Islands 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 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5384889.