Alert archive / Alaska / Gale Warnings in 2014

Gale Warning 229, NWS Anchorage, AK

March 5, 2014

NWS Anchorage, AK issued this gale warning at Mar 5, 2014, 4:00 PM AKST. It was in force for 12 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued: Mar 5, 2014, 4:00 PM AKST (01:00 UTC)
Expired: Mar 6, 2014, 4:00 AM AKST
In force: 12 hr
Issued by: NWS Anchorage, AK

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

378 
FZAK62 PAFC 052335
OFFALU

OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
400 PM AKST WED MAR 5 2014

OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE BERING SEA

WIND FORECASTS REFLECT THE PREDOMINANT SPEED AND DIRECTION
EXPECTED. SEA FORECASTS REPRESENT AN AVERAGE OF THE HIGHEST
ONE-THIRD OF THE COMBINED WIND WAVE AND SWELL HEIGHT.

PKZ499-061300-
400 PM AKST WED MAR 5 2014
.SYNOPSIS FOR CENTRAL BERING SEA...
HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE BERING SEA THROUGH FRI AFTERNOON.
A 995 MB LOW WILL DEVELOP NEAR 52N 175W THU EVENING AND REMAIN IN
PLACE THROUGH FRI AFTERNOON.

$$

PKZ411-061300-
BERING SEA OFFSHORE WEST OF 180 AND EAST OF THE INTERNATIONAL
DATELINE
400 PM AKST WED MAR 5 2014

...HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...

.TONIGHT...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 11 TO 17 FT. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY N OF
57N. 
.THU...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 12 FT. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY N OF 57N. 
.THU NIGHT...NE WIND 20 TO 30 KT. SEAS 11 FT. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY N
OF 56N. 
.FRI AND FRI NIGHT...NE WIND 20 TO 30 KT. SEAS 10 FT. 
.SAT THROUGH MON...NE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. SEAS 7 TO 10 FT.  

$$

PKZ412-061300-
BERING SEA OFFSHORE 171W TO 180 AND NORTH OF 56N
400 PM AKST WED MAR 5 2014

...HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...

.TONIGHT...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 9 TO 12 FT. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY. 
.THU...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 10 FT. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY. 
.THU NIGHT...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 10 FT. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY. 
.FRI AND FRI NIGHT...NE WIND 15 TO 30 KT. SEAS 5 TO 9 FT. 
.SAT THROUGH MON...NE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. SEAS 4 TO 8 FT.  

$$

PKZ413-061300-
BERING SEA OFFSHORE 171W TO 180 AND SOUTH OF 56N
400 PM AKST WED MAR 5 2014

...GALE WARNING TONIGHT...

.TONIGHT...NE WIND 35 KT. SEAS 10 TO 14 FT. FREEZING SPRAY N OF 55N. 
.THU...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 11 FT. FREEZING SPRAY N OF 54N. 
.THU NIGHT...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 11 FT. FREEZING SPRAY. 
.FRI AND FRI NIGHT...NE WIND 25 KT. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT. 
.SAT THROUGH MON...NE WIND UP TO 20 KT. SEAS 4 TO 7 FT.  

$$

PKZ414-061300-
BERING SEA OFFSHORE EAST OF 171W
400 PM AKST WED MAR 5 2014

...HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT...

.TONIGHT...NE WIND 20 TO 30 KT. SEAS 6 TO 9 FT. HEAVY FREEZING
SPRAY N OF 57N. 
.THU...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 8 FT. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY N OF 57N. 
.THU NIGHT...NE WIND 30 KT. SEAS 8 FT. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY N OF 57N.
.FRI AND FRI NIGHT...NE WIND 25 KT. SEAS 5 TO 8 FT. 
.SAT THROUGH MON...NE WIND 10 TO 20 KT. SEAS 3 TO 8 FT.  

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this gale warning went out, 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 this gale warning went out at Mar 5, 1:00 PM AKST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 1:00 PM AKST, 3 hours before

SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
100 PM AKST WED MAR 5 2014

.ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS...
THERE IS A LOW OVER ALASKA WITH AN UPPER LEVEL "FRONT" DRAPED NORTH
TO SOUTH ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA. THERE IS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE
OVER THE GULF OF ALASKA AND ANOTHER RIDGE OVER NORTHEAST RUSSIA.

.MODEL DISCUSSION...
THE NUMERICAL MODELS ARE IN FAIRLY GOOD AGREEMENT TODAY. THE ECMWF
AND NAM SEEM TO BE HANDLING THE SHORT TERM FORECAST DETAILS VERY
WELL. THE GFS IS A BIT OF AN OUTLIER IN HANDLING THE LOW/UPPER FRONT
OVER SOUTH CENTRAL. AS A LOW WORKS ITS WAY INTO THE GULF FRIDAY AND
SATURDAY THE MODELS BEGIN TO DIVERGE. DUE TO THE RECENT SUPERIOR
PERFORMANCE BY THE ECMWF...ITS SOLUTION IS PREFERRED. THE GFS IS NOW
TRENDING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE ECMWF AND THIS BRINGS A LITTLE MORE
CONFIDENCE TO THE FORECAST. FOR THIS TIME PERIOD THE NAM IS THE
CLEAR OUTLIER.

.SHORT TERM FORECAST...
FOR SOUTH CENTRAL ALASKA...
THE ALASKAN UPPER LOW WILL SLIDE SOUTHWEST...PUSHING INTO THE BERING
SEA THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THE ASSOCIATED "FRONT" OVER THE AREA WILL
WEAKEN TONIGHT AND DISSIPATE BY THU AFTERNOON. SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT
WILL ALLOW SNOW TO CONTINUE FOR FAVORABLE UPSLOPE AREAS TONIGHT INTO
EARLY THURSDAY. DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED BEGIN LATER THURSDAY AS
THE GULF RIDGE PUSHES INTO SOUTHERN ALASKA TO FILL THE GAP LEFT BY
THE LOW THAT BY THIS TIME IS IN THE BERING SEA. ON FRIDAY A LOW WILL
MOVE INTO THE GULF FROM THE SOUTH. THE MODELS ARE STRUGGLING WITH
THIS LOW DUE TO ITS TRAJECTORY AND ITS "COMPLEX" MAKEUP. AS
MENTIONED ABOVE...THE ECMWF IS THE PREFERRED MODEL FOR THIS TIME
FRAME OF THE FORECAST. THIS LOW WILL WORK ITS WAY TO THE GULF COAST
BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

FOR SOUTHWEST ALASKA...MAINLY DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH
SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THE EXCEPTION IS ALONG THE ALASKAN AND ALEUTIAN
RANGES...WHERE SOME PRECIPITATION IS POSSIBLE MAINLY DUE TO UPSLOPE
EFFECTS. AS THE ALASKAN LOW MOVES INTO THE BERING SEA ON THURSDAY
THE GULF RIDGE WILL PUSH INTO SOUTHWEST ALASKA AND REMAIN THERE
THROUGH SATURDAY.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...GALE WARNING 175 176 177 178.
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 160 179 180 185.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

LUDWIG MAR 14

In the hours before

Local storm report, Mar 5, 11:04 AM AKST, 4 hours 56 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1104 AM AKST WED MAR 05 2014

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

0955 AM     SNOW             6 NNE TRAPPER CREEK     62.31N 150.33W
03/05/2014  M13.0 INCH                          AK   TRAINED SPOTTER

            13 INCHES NEW SNOWFALL. SNOW DEPTH 28 INCHES.

&&

KUTZ

Local storm report, Mar 5, 12:42 PM AKST, 3 hours 18 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1242 PM AKST WED MAR 05 2014

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

1240 PM     SNOW             1 SE EAGLE RIVER        61.31N 149.55W
03/05/2014  M6.0 INCH                           AK   NWS EMPLOYEE

            LIGHT SNOW.

&&

BLUDWIG

The office that day

Everything else NWS Anchorage, AK issued on the same UTC day.

Issued	Product	Office	Lasted
Mar 5, 4:00 PM AKST	Small Craft Advisory	AFC	5 days
Mar 5, 4:00 PM AKST	Heavy Freezing Spray Warning	AFC	12 hr
Mar 6, 4:00 AM AKST	Gale Warning	AFC	36 hr
Mar 6, 4:00 AM AKST	Small Craft Advisory	AFC	4 days
Mar 6, 4:00 AM AKST	Small Craft Advisory	AFC	71 hr
Mar 6, 4:00 AM AKST	Heavy Freezing Spray Warning	AFC	12 hr
Mar 6, 11:10 AM AKST	Gale Warning	AFC	5 hr

Nearby

Gale Warnings in Alaska, 2014 Every gale warning in 2014

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text.