Heavy Snow in Alaska, April 18 to 19, 2005

Name: Heavy Snow in Alaska, April 18 to 19, 2005
Start: 2005-04-18T20:00
End: 2005-04-19T20:00
Location: Alaska

April 18 to 19, 2005 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

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.

A low moved into the south central region of Alaska Monday April 18th. This low produced moderate to heavy snow throughout the Susitna Valley with the heaviest snow occurring along the Parks Highway between mile posts 159 to 196. The State of Alaska Department of Transportation reported 16 inches of snow fell along the highway from 1 am to 1 pm on Tuesday, April 19th.

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 Apr 18, 4:00 PM AST, 4 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 18, 4:00 PM AST, 4 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 PM ADT MON APR 18 2005

.DISCUSSION...
MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON THE MAJOR FEATURES BUT I PREFER THE
THE NAM MODEL OVER THE EASTERN DOMAIN. THE GFS IS STILL FINE OVER THE
WESTERN DOMAIN.

THE UPPER LOW OVER GALENA WILL MOVE NORTHEAST TO NEAR DEAD HORSE
TUESDAY NIGHT THEN INTO THE BEAUFORT SEA WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE UPPER
TROUGH EXTENDING INTO SOUTHWEST ALASKA WILL PERSIST THROUGH TUESDAY
NIGHT. THIS PATTERN WILL KEEP SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA AND THE GULF OF
ALASKA UNDER A SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST FLOW THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

A 994 MB LOW 450 MILES SOUTH OF COLD BAY WILL MOVE TO 170 MILES SOUTH
OF KODIAK AND WEAKEN TO 1004 MB TUESDAY NIGHT THEN DISSIPATE NEAR
KODIAK WEDNESDAY. A 1000 MB LOW 480 MILES SOUTHWEST OF ATTU WILL MOVE
TO 150 MILES SOUTH OF ADAK AND STRENGTHEN TO 996 MB WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON.

THE ARCTIC FRONT OVER THE SUSITNA VALLEY AND THE COOK INLET WILL
REMAIN NEARLY STATIONARY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THE MOST SNOWFALL WILL BE
ALONG THIS FRONT.

THE MOIST FLOW OUT OF THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL ALSO PRODUCE TERRAIN
INDUCED SNOW ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF MOUNTAIN RANGES ALONG THE
CENTRAL GULF COAST AND ALONG THE NORTH SIDE THE COPPER RIVER BASIN.
THE SNOW SHOULD BE MUCH LIGHTER ELSEWHERE OVER THE SOUTHCENTRAL
ALASKA.

A DRIER AIRMASS AND NORTHEAST WINDS WEST OF THE ALEUTIAN RANGE WILL
KEEP THE MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES OVER THE KUSKOKWIM VALLEY, BRISTOL BAY
AND THE KUSKOKWIM DELTA.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR THE SUSITNA VALLEY.
MARINE...GALE 13A.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

NM APR 05

In the hours before

Local storm report, Apr 18, 3:28 PM AST, 4 hours 32 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
428 PM ADT MON APR 18 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0425 PM     SNOW             4 E CANTWELL            63.37N 148.79W
04/18/2005  9.0 INCH                            AK   TRAINED SPOTTER

            A SPOTTER LOCATED NEAR MILE MARKER 131 ON DENALI HIGHWAY,
            4 MILES EAST OF CANTWELL MEASURED 9 INCHES OF NEW SNOW IN
            THE LAST 24 HOURS. AT THE TIME OF THE OBSERVATION, IT WAS
            STILL SNOWING MODERATELY.

&&

AB

Local storm report, Apr 18, 4:37 PM AST, 3 hours 23 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
537 PM ADT MON APR 18 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0500 PM     SNOW             20 N TALKEETNA          62.63N 150.09W
04/18/2005  6.0 INCH                            AK   DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

            CHULITNA DOT MEASURED 6 INCHES OF NEW SNOW SINCE LAST
            NIGHT. AT THE TIME OF THE OBSERVATION, SNOW WAS FALLING
            MODERATELY. ROAD CONDITIONS WERE SLUSHY SOUTH OF THE
            CHULITNA RIVER AND SNOWPACKED NORTH OF THE RIVER.

&&

AB

Local storm report, Apr 18, 4:42 PM AST, 3 hours 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
542 PM ADT MON APR 18 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0510 PM     SNOW             CANTWELL                63.37N 148.92W
04/18/2005  0.0 INCH                            AK   DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

            THE CANTWELL DOT REPORTED CONDITIONS DETERIORATING OVER
            THE PAST HOUR. WINDS ARE GUSTING FROM THE NORTH WITH
            MODERATE SNOWFALL. THE COMBINATION IS CAUSING NEAR
            WHITE-OUT CONDITIONS ON THE HIGHWAY.

&&

AB

Local storm report, Apr 18, 4:54 PM AST, 3 hours 6 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
554 PM ADT MON APR 18 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0552 PM     SNOW             TRAPPER CREEK           62.24N 150.42W
04/18/2005  7.0 INCH                            AK   TRAINED SPOTTER

            A TRAINED SPOTTER IN TRAPPER CREEK ESTIMATED 7 INCHES OF
            NEW SNOW SINCE THIS MORNING. AT THE TIME OF THE
            OBSERVATION, IT WAS STILL SNOWING MODERATE TO HEAVY WITH
            LIGHT WINDS.

&&

AB

Local storm report, Apr 18, 5:08 PM AST, 2 hours 52 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
608 PM ADT MON APR 18 2005

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0606 PM     SNOW             TALKEETNA               62.34N 150.09W
04/18/2005  5.0 INCH                            AK   DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

            DOT WORKER ESTIMATED 5 TO 6 INCHES OF NEW SNOW SINCE THIS
            MORNING. AT THE TIME OF THE OBSERVATION, IT IS CONTINUING
            TO SNOW MODERATELY TO HEAVILY.

&&

AB

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Susitna Valley

When: April 18, 8:00 PM AST to April 19, 8:00 PM AST
Where: Susitna Valley 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.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, April 2005

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: 5440142.