Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 8 to 10, 2004

Name: Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, March 8 to 10, 2004
Start: 2004-03-08T22:00
End: 2004-03-10T22:30
Location: Alaska

March 8 to 10, 2004 · NWS AFC · 6 events in 4 counties and zones

An active front moved into the Bering Sea coast on the morning of March 9th. This produced blizzard conditions in the northern portions of the Bristol Bay zone beginning Tuesday morning.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 active front moved into the Bering Sea coast on the morning of March 9th. This produced blizzard conditions in the northern portions of the Bristol Bay zone beginning Tuesday morning. This front also result in amplifying the pressure gradient over south central Alaska resulting in strong east to southeast wind through Portage pass and along Turnagain Arm and the Anchorage Hillside. This strong east to southeast flow was responsible for pushing moisture into the Alaska Range that resulted in heavy snowfall beginning late Monday night and continuing through Tuesday evening. Two feet of snow fell overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning. Additional snowfall reports ranged from 6 inches to 10 inches in addition to the two feet reported at Shell Lake.

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, 10 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 8, 12:00 PM AST, 10 hours 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

3 blizzard, 2 high wind, 1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Susitna Valley

When: March 8, 10:00 PM AST to March 10, 6:30 PM AST
Where: Susitna Valley forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: March 9, 9:25 AM AST to 10:30 PM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured: 65 kt (75 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns

When: March 9, 9:53 AM AST to 10:30 PM AST
Where: Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns

When: March 9, 9:53 AM AST to 8:45 PM AST
Where: Wrn P.W. Snd & Kenai Mtns forecast zone
Measured: 66 kt (76 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Bristol Bay

When: March 9, 9:59 AM AST to 1:50 PM AST
Where: Bristol Bay forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: March 10, 9:25 AM AST to 10:30 PM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
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

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: 5384988, 5384986, 5384984, 5384987, 5384985, 5384890.