Alert archive / Alaska / Wind Advisories in 2025

Wind Advisory 9, NWS Fairbanks, AK

January 20, 2025Denali Borough, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska

NWS Fairbanks, AK issued this wind advisory at Jan 20, 2025, 11:47 AM AKST for Denali Borough, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska. It took effect at Jan 21, 2025, 3:00 AM AKST. It was in force for 24 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 20, 2025, 11:47 AM AKST (20:47 UTC)
In effect from
Jan 21, 2025, 3:00 AM AKST
Expired
Jan 22, 2025, 3:18 AM AKST
In force
24 hr
Issued by
NWS Fairbanks, AK

Counties Denali Borough, AK, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AK

The radar

The Fairbanks Faa radar (PAPD), 146 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:51 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Fairbanks, (PFAI), launched 12:00Z, 8.8 hours before the alert went out and 128 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Fairbanks, at 12:00Z on 2025-01-20Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Fairbanks, at 12:00Z on 2025-01-20The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -30 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
464 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
35 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-30 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-7 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

765 
WWAK73 PAFG 202047
NPWAFG

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
1147 AM AKST Mon Jan 20 2025

AKZ847-849-211500-
/O.NEW.PAFG.WI.Y.0009.250121T1200Z-250122T2100Z/
Northern Denali Borough-Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp-
Including the cities of Black Rapids, Healy, Denali National
Park, The Richardson Highway from MP 224 to MP 259, Anderson, The
Parks Highway from MP 237 to MP 288, Donnelly Dome, and Kantishna
1147 AM AKST Mon Jan 20 2025

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TUESDAY TO NOON AKST 
WEDNESDAY...

* WHAT...South winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph expected.

* WHERE...Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp and Northern 
  Denali Borough.

* WHEN...From 3 AM Tuesday to noon AKST Wednesday.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and a few 
  power outages may result.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high 
profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

&&

$$
4 follow-up statements
780 
WWAK73 PAFG 211529
NPWAFG

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
629 AM AKST Tue Jan 21 2025

AKZ847-849-220100-
/O.CON.PAFG.WI.Y.0009.000000T0000Z-250122T2100Z/
Northern Denali Borough-Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp-
Including the cities of Black Rapids, Anderson, Kantishna, The
Richardson Highway from MP 224 to MP 259, Healy, Donnelly Dome,
Denali National Park, and The Parks Highway from MP 237 to MP 288
629 AM AKST Tue Jan 21 2025

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON AKST WEDNESDAY...

* WHAT...South winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph.

* WHERE...Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp and Northern 
  Denali Borough.

* WHEN...Until noon AKST Wednesday.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and a few 
  power outages may result.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high 
profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

&&

$$
607 
WWAK73 PAFG 212204
NPWAFG

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
104 PM AKST Tue Jan 21 2025

AKZ847-849-221500-
/O.CON.PAFG.WI.Y.0009.000000T0000Z-250122T2100Z/
Northern Denali Borough-Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp-
Including the cities of Donnelly Dome, The Parks Highway from MP
237 to MP 288, Black Rapids, The Richardson Highway from MP
224 to MP 259, Anderson, Healy, Denali National Park, and
Kantishna
104 PM AKST Tue Jan 21 2025

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON AKST WEDNESDAY...

* WHAT...South winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 65 mph.

* WHERE...Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp and Northern 
  Denali Borough.

* WHEN...Until noon AKST Wednesday.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and a few 
  power outages may result.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high 
profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

&&

$$
122 
WWAK73 PAFG 220021
NPWAFG

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
321 PM AKST Tue Jan 21 2025

AKZ837-220600-
/O.EXB.PAFG.WI.Y.0009.000000T0000Z-250122T0600Z/
Delta Junction-
Including the cities of Fort Greely, Delta Junction, and Deltana
321 PM AKST Tue Jan 21 2025

...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM AKST THIS EVENING...

* WHAT...Southeast winds 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph.

* WHERE...Delta Junction.

* WHEN...Until 9 PM AKST this evening.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Secure outdoor objects.

&&

$$

AKZ847-849-221500-
/O.CON.PAFG.WI.Y.0009.000000T0000Z-250122T2100Z/
Northern Denali Borough-Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp-
Including the cities of Denali National Park, Kantishna,
Anderson, Donnelly Dome, Healy, Black Rapids, The Parks Highway
from MP 237 to MP 288, and The Richardson Highway from MP 224 to
MP 259
321 PM AKST Tue Jan 21 2025

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON AKST WEDNESDAY...

* WHAT...South winds 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 65 mph.

* WHERE...Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp and Northern 
  Denali Borough.

* WHEN...Until noon AKST Wednesday.

* IMPACTS...Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and a few 
  power outages may result.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high 
profile vehicles. Use extra caution.

&&

$$
737 
WWAK73 PAFG 221218
NPWAFG

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
318 AM AKST Wed Jan 22 2025

AKZ847-849-221330-
/O.CAN.PAFG.WI.Y.0009.000000T0000Z-250122T2100Z/
Northern Denali Borough-Eastern Alaska Range North of Trims Camp-
Including the cities of Denali National Park, Black Rapids,
Donnelly Dome, The Richardson Highway from MP 224 to MP 259,
Healy, Anderson, Kantishna, and The Parks Highway from MP 237 to
MP 288
318 AM AKST Wed Jan 22 2025

...WIND ADVISORY IS CANCELLED...

Winds have diminished

$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this wind advisory went out, 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 this wind advisory went out at Jan 20, 6:42 AM AKST, 5 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 20, 6:42 AM AKST, 5 hours 5 minutes before
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
642 AM AKST Mon Jan 20 2025

.SYNOPSIS...A series of storms will continue to impact the West
Coast, with the next storm arriving late tonight bringing heavy
snow and blowing snow. Winter Storm Watches and Warnings are in
effect. The Interior will be mostly dry with well above normal
temperatures through the rest of the week, along with periods of
strong south winds through Alaska Range passes and east winds at
Delta Junction. The North Slope will also have temperatures well
above normal through Tuesday, with cold air slowly filtering back
in from the west. A significant pattern shift will take place late
this week, likely bringing a number of strong storms to the West
Coast and precipitation into the Interior.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

Key Weather Messages:

Central and Eastern Interior...

- Fairbanks picked up 1-2" of snow overnight. Snowfall will
  tapering off this morning.

- Heavy snow fell along the Richardson Highway in the eastern
  Alaska Range overnight. Snow is tapering off this morning. The
  Winter Weather Advisory has been cancelled.

- Mostly dry conditions expected until the end of the week with
  high temperatures well above normal, mainly in the 20s above
  zero.

- South winds gusting to around 50 mph through Alaska Range passes
  and east winds gusting to around 40 mph at Delta Junction are
  expected at times Tuesday and Wednesday.

West Coast and Western Interior...

- Monday there will be some brief calm conditions as another low
  paired with a strong arctic front moves into the Bering by
  Monday evening. This arctic front will potentially bring a
  narrow band of long duration heavy snowfall from the Y-K Delta
  to the Kobuk Valley. The exact location of the band is still
  uncertain, however currently we are looking at it to be from
  Hooper Bay to Unalakleet then to Ambler with it's western edge
  of the band being somewhere in between Elim and Nome. Snow
  totals could be up to a foot in some spots depending on snow
  ratios. Winter Storm Watches have been upgraded to Warnings for
  most of the area, except for along where we expect the western
  edge of the snow band to be. These have been left as Watches as
  a lot of uncertainty still remains.

- Another low pressure system moving into Bristol Bay on Tuesday
  morning looks to bring northeasterly wind gusts up to 35 mph
  from the Seward Peninsula to the Y-K Delta. We could see
  significant visibility restrictions in areas that are receiving
  the heaviest snow as well as gusty winds.

- After this next system moves out of the area Wednesday morning,
  there will be another system Thursday and Friday. This system
  looks to be bring heavy snow initially, then mixed precipitation
  as it moves northeast through Saturday. Expect this to be an
  impactful system.

North Slope and Brooks Range...

- Well above normal temperatures continue today from the Brooks
  Range to the Arctic Coast. Expect temperatures mainly in the
  20s, with colder air filtering back in from west to east through
  Wednesday.

- Falling snow along with southerly gap winds through the Brooks
  Range passes up to 40 mph will cause blowing snow and low
  visibility through Tuesday. A Winter Weather Advisory is in
  effect.

Forecast Analysis and Confidence...Weak high pressure exists over
Interior Alaska with weak low pressure in the arctic and in the
Aleutians. Weak southwest flow persists aloft as a deep and cold
upper level low lies over Eastern Siberia. Ridging aloft will
build over the Interior today as a warm front spreads north along
the West Coast, bringing snow before halting from Savoonga to
Nome to Anaktuvuk Pass. Depending on where exactly this system
stops, areas beneath it will likely receive heavy snow of up to or
even slightly more than a foot through Wednesday afternoon. A
weaker low pressure system moves to the Western Bering Sea on
Wednesday night, bringing another round of light snow through
Thursday before a much stronger storm takes aim at the region on
Friday.

Models are not in good agreement on the placement of precipitation
with the first system. The ECMWF has been the most consistent, and
the forecast reflects that solution with a more SW/NE oriented
snow band. The NAM and GFS bring the precipitation further west
and orient the band more N/S. Opted to keep the western areas as
Winter Storm Watches in case daytime models runs begin to show
more precipitation than the ECMWF is showing there. Otherwise, we
used a general blend of models for the forecast overnight. We
blended the NAM and NAMNEST for winds and made some hand edits to
increase gap winds through Alaska Range passes and at Delta
Junction beginning Tuesday afternoon.

Extended Forecast Days 4-7...A major pattern shift is likely by
the end of the week as flow turns more southwesterly and a number
of strong low pressure systems enter the Bering Sea. While the
exact tracks of these lows are still uncertain, the overall
pattern is favorable to bring an abundance of warm air and
precipitation northward over western Alaska and possibly into the
central and eastern Interior. Expect a strong storm with high
winds across the West Coast on Thursday and Friday, with
increasing chances for heavy precipitation in the Interior Friday
through Sunday. Models indicate an increasing probability for very
cold temperatures early next week behind this system.

Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AK...Winter Storm Warning for AKZ813-819.
     Winter Storm Watch for AKZ816.
     Winter Storm Watch for AKZ822-823.
     Winter Storm Warning for AKZ824>826-829-830.
     Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ809.
PK...Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ801-802.
     Small Craft Advisory for PKZ801.
     Gale Warning for PKZ802.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ811.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ812-858-859.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ813.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ814.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ815-860-861.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ850.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ853.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ857.
&&

CHRIEST

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 20, 3:21 AM AKSTWinter Storm WarningAFGKusilvak Census Area, Nome Census Area, Northwest Arctic, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area60 hr
Jan 20, 4:02 AM AKSTGale WarningAFG11 hr
Jan 20, 4:02 AM AKSTSmall Craft AdvisoryAFG34 hr
Jan 20, 4:02 AM AKSTHeavy Freezing Spray WarningAFG3 days

Nearby

Wind Advisories in Alaska, 2025Every wind advisory in 2025

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.