1 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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.
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 Sep 28, 4:00 AM AST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHWEST ALASKA 500 AM ADT TUE SEP 28 2004 .DISCUSSION... UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER NORTHERN ALASKA AND ZONAL FLOW FROM THE NORTHERN BERING ACROSS THE NORTH GULF COAST THIS MORNING. A TROUGH FROM THE LOW EXTENDS SOUTHWEST TOWARD SHEMYA. AT THE SURFACE A SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED IN THE ZONAL FLOW IS MOVING ACROSS SOUTHCENTRAL...A LOW IS NEAR AMCHITKA WITH A WARM FRONT EXTENDING THROUGH THE PRIBILOFS TOWARD THE SOUTHWEST COAST. A FAIR AMOUNT OF UNCERTAINTY EXISTS WITH THE MODELS THIS MORNING AND THE DIFFERENCES ARE SUMMED UP BY THE PLACEMENT OF THE ZONAL JET ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE. THE ETA PUTS THE JET ACROSS THE NORTHERN SUSITNA AND COPPER RIVER BASIN THIS AFTERNOON...WHILE THE GFS PLACES IT ACROSS THE KENAI PENINSULA. THE ETA IS THEREFORE MUCH WARMER ACROSS MOST OF THE AREA SOUTH OF THE AK RANGE. SATPIX AND OBS SHOW SUBSTANTIAL CLEARING ACROSS THE KUSKOKWIM VALLEY AND DELTA WHICH IS MORE IN LINE WITH THE GFS SOLUTION SO THE FORECAST IS BASED ON THAT MODEL. IN THE EAST...THE SHORTWAVE WILL RACE ACROSS THE AREA. PRECIPITATION WILL BE FAIRLY LIGHT WITH THIS SYSTEM. FROM A LINE NORTH OF ANCHORAGE IT WILL BE MAINLY SNOW...SOUTH OF THIS LINE WITH BE A MIX OF PRECIP TYPES...WITH RAIN NEAR HOMER. THERE WILL BE A BREAK LATER TODAY AS BRIEF RIDGING AND COOLER TEMPERATURES RETURN...THEN OVERRUNNING PRECIPITATION MOVES INTO THE AREA LATE TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY. PRECIP WILL START OFF AS SNOW BEFORE WARM AIR ARRIVES WED AFTERNOON THROUGH EVENING. THIS WILL BE A SNOW EVENT FOR THE NORTHERN SUSITNA ALASKA RANGE AND FOOTHILLS AND TALKEETNAS UNTIL THE CHANGEOVER WED EVENING. THE COPPER RIVER BASIN WILL PROBABLY WARM BEFORE THE PRECIP ARRIVES. RAIN CONTINUES ACROSS THE EASTERN ZONES THROUGH WED NIGHT. IN THE WEST...A BRIEF BREAK FOR THE KUSKOKWIM TODAY...OTHERWISE GALES STORMS AND PRECIP MARCH ACROSS THE EASTERN HALF OF THE ALEUTIANS INTO WESTERN ALASKA THROUGH WED NIGHT. MOST OF THE PRECIP WILL BE RAIN EXCEPT IN THE KUSKOKWIM WHERE SNOW WILL FALL UNTIL THE COLD AIR IS REPLACED BY WED EVENING. THE AMCHITKA LOW MAKES IT TO ATKA WED EVENING AND THEN SPLITS. THE TRIPLE POINT LOW MOVES OVER THE YUKON WED NIGHT AND THE MAIN LOW MOVES SOUTH OF NIKOLSKI. IN THE EXTENDED...THE MAIN LOW FINALLY WEAKENS OVER BRISTOL BAY SAT. THIS KEEPS WARM WET ONSHORE FLOW OVER THE EASTERN ZONES THROUGH THE WEEKEND. IN THE WEST RAIN AND SHOWERS CONTINUE OVER THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS AND WESTERN AK AS WELL THROUGH THE WEEKEND. WARM AND WET CONDITIONS CONTINUE AS WELL OVER THE WESTERN BERING AS ANOTHER LOW TRACKS ALONG 50 N...MOVING WELL SOUTH OF THE GULF BY THE WEEKEND. EARLY NEXT WEEK A CHANCE IS IN STORE AS A KAMCHATKA LOW RACES ACROSS THE BERING...COOLING WESTERN ZONES BUT ENHANCING WARM ONSHORE FLOW OVER THE EASTERN ZONES. .AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY PUBLIC...NONE MARINE...STORMS 5B 6B 12A GALES 5A 6A 8 12B 13A 13B 14 15 FIRE WEATHER...NONE DS SEP 04
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A strong moist southerly flow into the Copper River Basin resulted in heavy snow along south facing up slope areas of the Alaska Range. The Slana Ranger Station reported 16 inches of snow overnight September 28th to the morning of the 29th.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, September 2004
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: 5417297.