High Wind, Cape Decision to Cape Fairweather-Coastal Area
- When
- December 18, 5:00 AM AST to 9:25 PM AST
- Where
- Cape Decision to Cape Fairweather-Coastal Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 46 kt (53 mph)
High Wind in Alaska, December 18, 1997
A intense low pressure system offshore of the panhandle produced strong easterly winds through the inner channels of Southeast Alaska and along the gulf coast. Peak wind gusts reported were 46kt at Cape Spencer, 47kt at Cape Decision, 49kt at the federal building in Juneau, 45kt at the Ketchikan airport, and 48kt at Hydaberg.
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 AJK wrote it up.
A intense low pressure system offshore of the panhandle produced strong easterly winds through the inner channels of Southeast Alaska and along the gulf coast. Peak wind gusts reported were 46kt at Cape Spencer, 47kt at Cape Decision, 49kt at the federal building in Juneau, 45kt at the Ketchikan airport, and 48kt at Hydaberg.
Event by event
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision-Coastal Area
- When
- December 18, 5:00 AM AST to 9:25 PM AST
- Where
- Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision-Coastal Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 48 kt (55 mph)
High Wind, Southern Southeast Alaska Ernest Sound to Dixon Entrance
- When
- December 18, 5:00 AM AST to 9:25 PM AST
- Where
- Southern Southeast Alaska Ernest Sound to Dixon Entrance forecast zone
- Measured
- 45 kt (52 mph)
High Wind, Juneau Borough-Admiralty Island-Icy Strait Area
- When
- December 18, 5:00 AM AST to 9:25 PM AST
- Where
- Juneau Borough-Admiralty Island-Icy Strait Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 49 kt (56 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
- Flood in Florida, December 18 to 31, 1997
- Dense Fog in Kentucky, December 18, 1997
- Dense Fog in Illinois, December 18, 1997
- Dense Fog in Missouri, December 18, 1997
- Dense Fog in Indiana, December 18, 1997
- High Wind in Alaska, December 18 to 19, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Wyoming, December 18 to 19, 1997
- High Wind in Alaska, December 18, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Nevada, December 18, 1997
More
Every storm in Alaska in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 1997
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: 5623879, 5623880, 5623881, 5623882.