High Wind in Alaska, April 4 to 5, 1996

Name: High Wind in Alaska, April 4 to 5, 1996
Start: 1996-04-04T00:00
End: 1996-04-05T23:59
Location: Alaska

April 4 to 5, 1996 · NWS AFC · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

drifting to about 500 miles south of Kodiak Island late Wednesday with its front in an arc to about 240 miles south of the northcentral Gulf Coast. By late Thursday afternoon, the low had moved to within 200 miles south southeast of Kodiak with the front in an arc through Cook Inlet and into the eastern Alaska Range.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

Although the northwest Bering high pressure ridge began to weaken...an intense 951mb low formed in the eastern north Pacific...drifting to about 500 miles south of Kodiak Island late Wednesday with its front in an arc to about 240 miles south of the northcentral Gulf Coast. By late Thursday afternoon, the low had moved to within 200 miles south southeast of Kodiak with the front in an arc through Cook Inlet and into the eastern Alaska Range. Moderate winds blew across many areas with peak winds reported following:Place Speed (mph) DayDutch Harbor 54 ThursdayCold Bay 55 ThursdayCape Romanzof 43 FridayCape Newenham 58 ThursdaySaint Mary's 40 ThursdayDillingham 45 ThursdaySitkinak 51 FridayKodiak 41 ThursdayMiddleton Island 61 ThursdayWhittier 52 FridaySeal Island 46 Thursday

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Haines Borough and Lynn Canal

When: April 4, 12:00 AM AST to April 5, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Haines Borough and Lynn Canal forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)

High Wind, Glacier Bay

When: April 4, 12:00 AM AST to April 5, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Glacier Bay forecast zone
Measured: 44 kt (51 mph)

High Wind, Eastern Chichagof Island

When: April 4, 12:00 AM AST to April 5, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Eastern Chichagof Island forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)

High Wind, Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area

When: April 4, 12:00 AM AST to April 5, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area forecast zone
Measured: 47 kt (54 mph)

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, April 1996

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: 5540786, 5540787, 5540788, 5540789.