Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 9 to 10, 2005

Name: Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 9 to 10, 2005
Start: 2005-02-09T05:00
End: 2005-02-10T17:00
Location: Alaska

February 9 to 10, 2005 · NWS AFC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong storm moved into western Prince William Sound Wednesday night. This storm produced heavy snow over northern Cook Inlet in the Anchorage area Wednesday night and Thursday.

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 AFC wrote it up.

A strong storm moved into western Prince William Sound Wednesday night. This storm produced heavy snow over northern Cook Inlet in the Anchorage area Wednesday night and Thursday. The heaviest reported snow fall was along the Anchorage Hillside of 21.5 inches. Snow fall ranged from 5-7 inches over north and west Anchorage to 21.5 inches along the hillside. This storm also produced strong channeled gusty north wind through Broad Pass creating blizzard conditions in the northern Susitna Valley.

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 Feb 9, 5:00 AM AST, 0 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 9, 5:00 AM AST, 0 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 AM AST WED FEB 9 2005

.DISCUSSION...
MODELS ARE IN RELATIVELY GOOD AGREEMENT THIS MORNING. WENT WITH
MESOETA SINCE IT HAS BEEN FAIRLY CONSISTENT ON ITS TRENDS THE PAST
FEW DAYS.

THE MAIN FORECAST PROBLEMS TODAY ARE THE PRECIP AND WINDS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE LOW CURRENTLY SOUTH OF KODIAK THAT WILL BE MOVING INTO
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND THURSDAY. THE MODELS HAVE DELAYED ITS ARRIVAL BY
12 HRS SINCE YESTERDAY BUT THE TRACK REMAINS CONSISTENT. AS WAA
CONTINUES OVER SOUTHCENTRAL UNTIL THURSDAY THE QPF POSSIBILITIES ARE
FAIRLY HIGH. BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON THE SIGNIFICANT CAA THAT IS
AFFECTING THE BERING AND THE Y-K DELTA WILL PUSH EASTWARD. THIS WILL
SET UP SOUTHCENTRAL FOR THE TYPICAL 25 TO 1 RATIO. RIGHT NOW THE BET
IS ON 7 TO 12 INCHES AS A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE FOR ACCUMULATIONS
FROM KENAI TO TALKEETNA. MAY NEED TO RETHINK THIS FOR WARNING LEVELS
OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF PERIODS. AS WE ALL KNOW A HEAVY SNOW WARNING
VERIFIES IN ANCHORAGE ABOUT ONCE EVERY 30 YEARS.

THERE IS UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT WITH A WAVE EXTENDING FROM AN UPPER
LEVEL LOW OFF THE Y-K DELTA COAST INTO THE KENAI PENINSULA. SO IF THE
LOW CHANGES ITS TRACK IT WILL MOST LIKELY MOVE FARTHER WEST. THIS
WOULD PREVENT INTRUSION OF CAA AND POSSIBLY RESULT IN A MIX OF
FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW..WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY CONDITIONS BUT NO
WARNING. NEEDLESS TO SAY WILL NEED TO WATCH THIS ONE CAREFULLY.

A WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR HIGH WINDS IN KODIAK ON WED NIGHT INTO
THU MORNING. A HIGH WIND WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR CORDOVA ON THE
LEADING EDGE OF THE COLD FRONT FOR THE SAME TIME PERIOD. AS THE WINDS
PICK UP IN KODIAK ANCHORAGE WILL SEE ITS HEAVIEST SNOWFALL
RATES...PROVIDED THE MODELS DO NOT COMPLETELY CHANGE OVER THE NEXT
FEW RUNS.

SOUTHWEST AK...FAIRLY QUIET ACROSS THE ALEUTIANS AND SOUTHWEST AK. A
SERIES OF WEAK LOWS WILL AFFECT THE WESTERN CAPES OF BRISTOL BAY AND
THE Y-K DELTA. NO MORE THAN SHOWERS AND SOME GUSTY WINDS EXPECTED.
THE EXCEPTION IS THE WESTERN AKPENN NORTHWARD TO ILIAMNA. THESE AREAS
WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE LOW PASSING TO THE EAST BRINGING SOME
SNOWFALL BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. OTHERWISE STRONG CAA UNDER
THE RIDGE WILL BE THE MAIN STORY FOR MOST OF THE SOUTHWEST. BY
THURSDAY NIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL BEGIN TO IMPACT THE WESTERN
ALEUTIANS WEST OF ADAK. EXPECT GALES AND POSSIBLY STORMS WITH THIS
FRONT BUT NOTHING TOO OUT OF THE ORDINARY.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING...171
         HIGH WIND WATCH...135
MARINE...
   HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING...3A 3C 5A 6A 6B 14 15
   STORMS...2B 3A 3B 3C 5A 5B
   GALES...2B1 4 4A
FIRE WEATHER...NONE

RW FEB 05

Event by event

1 heavy snow, 1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: February 9, 5:00 AM AST to February 10, 5:00 PM AST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Blizzard, Susitna Valley

When: February 10, 6:00 AM AST to 3:00 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.
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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, February 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: 5434065, 5434066.