Alaska, 1996

High Wind in Alaska, May 23, 1996

May 23, 1996 · NWS AFC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

An intense 974mb low just southwest of Kodiak continued to curve northward toward Bristol Bay. Early Thursday afternoon, the moderate to strong weather front associated with this low extended in an arc through Bristol Bay to Kodiak city then in a southeastward arc across the southern Gulf of Alaska.

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.

An intense 974mb low just southwest of Kodiak continued to curve northward toward Bristol Bay. Early Thursday afternoon, the moderate to strong weather front associated with this low extended in an arc through Bristol Bay to Kodiak city then in a southeastward arc across the southern Gulf of Alaska. Ship reports in Bristol Bay and inadvance of the front across the western Gulf of Alaska reported winds between 40 and 63 mph.Reports from Sitkinak and Kodiak city were of winds gusting 51 mph and 48 mph respectively. At King Salmon...wind gusts reached 51 mph while just to the northeast gusts of 44 mph were reported at Iliamna. At Portage...along the east end of Turnagain Arm...wind gusts reached 47 mph. On the back side of the low...wind gusts reached 47 mph at Dutch Harbor.

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Glacier Bay

When
May 23, 8:00 AM AST
Where
Glacier Bay forecast zone
Measured
44 kt (51 mph)

High Wind, Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway

When
May 23, 12:48 PM AST
Where
Taiya Inlet and Klondike Highway forecast zone
Measured
41 kt (47 mph)

High Wind, Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area

When
May 23, 12:48 PM AST
Where
Salisbury Sound to Cape Fairweather Coastal Area forecast zone
Measured
41 kt (47 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

More

Every storm in Alaska in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 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: 5549110, 5549112, 5549113.