High Wind in Alaska, December 1, 1996

Name: High Wind in Alaska, December 1, 1996
Start: 1996-12-01T00:00
End: 1996-12-01T23:59
Location: Alaska

December 1, 1996 · NWS AFC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A strong 958mb low near Attu drifted to a position 120 miles northeast of Attu and began to slowly weaken Monday. By Tuesday, the center began to loop eastward and weaken more rapidly.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 958mb low near Attu drifted to a position 120 miles northeast of Attu and began to slowly weaken Monday. By Tuesday, the center began to loop eastward and weaken more rapidly. The front associated with this low moved into the central Aleutians Sunday morning then elonagated eastward into Bristol Bay and toward the southern tip of Kodiak Island Monday morning...weakening. Strong winds, close to 45 mph, were observed around the low...especially along the west side of it...and inadvance of the front.

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, St. Paul Island

When: December 1, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: St. Paul Island forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph)

High Wind, Eastern Aleutians

When: December 1, 12:00 PM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Eastern Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph)

High Wind, Western Alaska Peninsula

When: December 1, 3:00 PM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Western Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 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, December 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: 5579233, 5579234, 5579235.