Blizzard in Alaska, November 19 to 20, 2004

Name: Blizzard in Alaska, November 19 to 20, 2004
Start: 2004-11-19T13:00
End: 2004-11-20T07:53
Location: Alaska

November 19 to 20, 2004 · NWS AFG · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A 964 mb low moved north to the Pribilofs on the morning of the 19th and continued north through the day reaching St. Lawrence Island early on the 20th.

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.

A 964 mb low moved north to the Pribilofs on the morning of the 19th and continued north through the day reaching St. Lawrence Island early on the 20th. At the same time this system nudged northward a weather front over the southern Chukchi Sea, creating windy conditions on the Western Arctic. Blizzard conditions occurred at:Zone 201 - Wainwright. ASOS gust to 37 knots (43 mph)Zone 211 - Nome. ASOS gust to 36 knots (41 mph).

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 Nov 19, 6:00 AM AST, 7 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 19, 6:00 AM AST, 7 hours before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
600 AM AST FRI NOV 19 2004

.DISCUSSION...A PERSISTENT AND LARGE RIDGE ALOFT NEAR 140 DEGREES
WEST LONGITUDE IS BRINGING A SERIES OF STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS
AND HIGH ENERGY WEATHER INTO WESTERN ALASKA, AND WARM WEATHER
EVERYWHERE IN THE FORECAST AREA.

THE FIRST HAS ALREADY WEAKENED TO A RESIDUAL LOW OVER THE NORTH
BERING ON THURSDAY THIS SYSTEM BROUGHT WIDESPREAD LIGHT
PRECIPITATION TO THE WEST COAST, INCLUDING SOME FREEZING RAIN OVER
THE YUKON DELTA AND SOUTH SEWARD PENINSULA.

THE SECOND GREW EXPLOSIVELY THURSDAY EVENING. AT 06Z NOV. 19 IT WAS
A 964 MB CENTER JUST SOUTH OF DUTCH HARBOR. THIS SYSTEM SHOULD
LARGELY FOLLOW THE PATH OF ITS PREDECESSOR, AND BE WEAKENING JUST
SOUTH OF ST LAWRENCE ISLAND AT THIS TIME SATURDAY.

THE THIRD IS DUE TO REACH THE CENTRAL ALEUTIANS EARLY SUNDAY, AND TO
BE OVER ST MATTHEW ISLAND SUNDAY EVENING, THEN TO BE WEAKENING WEST
OF GAMBELL MONDAY MORNING.

LOWS #2 AND #3 WILL BRING GALES TO MOST OF THE BERING SEA, AS WELL
AS THE ALASKA COAST FROM DALL POINT TO BERING STRAIT. SOUTH FLOW
WILL CONTINUE TO BRING WARMER THAN NORMAL WEATHER TO ALL OF NORTHERN
ALASKA, AS WELL AS SOME STRONG CHINOOK WINDS OVER THE ALASKA RANGE.
DRY WEATHER WILL PREVAIL OVER THE NORTH SLOPE FROM BARROW EAST. ONLY
SOME LIGHT SNOW WILL MAKE IT TO THE EAST INTERIOR, WHILE MORE
EXTENSIVE SNOW FALLS OVER THE WEST DURING THE NEXT 3 DAYS.

THE 00Z AVIATION MODEL RUN INITIALIZED THE DUTCH HARBOR LOW (LOW #2)
BETTER THAN THE 00Z ETA MODEL RUN, WHICH WAS SIGNIFICANTLY TOO WEAK.
HENCE THE 00Z AVIATION OUTPUT WAS GENERALLY USED IN THIS MORNINGS
FORECASTS.

INTERIOR TEMPERATURES ARE CONTINUING TO SHOW THE TYPICAL WINTER
PATTERN OF COLD AIR IN VALLEYS AND BALMY AIR ALOFT. THIS HAS BEEN
CLEARLY DISCERNIBLE IN THE LANDSCAPE AROUND FAIRBANKS: A BEAUTIFUL,
THICK COATING OF HOARFROST OVER VALLEY FORESTS WITH A CLEAN BREAK TO
NEARLY SNOW FREE VEGETATION BETWEEN 500 TO 1,000 FEET ABOVE THE
VALLEY FLOOR.

THE WARM WEATHER OVER MUCH OF THE REALM LOOKS LIKE IT WILL GO INTO
MID WEEK NEXT WEEK AND PERHAPS LONGER, AS LOW PRESSURE ALOFT
CONTINUES TO PREVAIL OVER THE BERING SEA.

.AFG WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING ZONES 225 AND 226 (ALASKA RANGE) TODAY
AND TONIGHT. WIND ADVISORY ZONES 201, 211, 212, 223. WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY ZONE 214.
MARINE...GALE WARNING AREAS 9A, 9B. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY AREA 10B.
BRISK WIND ADVISORY AREAS 10A AND 11. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY AREA 10B.

TF NOV 04

Event by event

2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Srn Seward Peninsula Coast

When: November 19, 1:00 PM AST to 4:27 PM AST
Where: Srn Seward Peninsula Coast forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Western Arctic Coast

When: November 19, 8:53 PM AST to November 20, 7:53 AM 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

Every storm in Alaska in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, November 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: 5428007, 5428008.