High Wind in Alaska, May 9 to 12, 1997

Name: High Wind in Alaska, May 9 to 12, 1997
Start: 1997-05-09T06:00
End: 1997-05-12T03:00
Location: Alaska

May 9 to 12, 1997 · NWS AFC · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

preceded by brisk southeast winds. Gusts reached 54 mph at Shemya at 12:27 pm Friday.

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.

Another vigorous low and front approached the extreme western Aleutians early Friday...preceded by brisk southeast winds. Gusts reached 54 mph at Shemya at 12:27 pm Friday. Late Saturday the front had moved into the southwest Alaskan coast and into the upper Alaska Peninsula and weakened. Cold Bay recorded wind gusts of 40 mph prior to the frontal passage late Saturday. On Sunday, wind gusts reached 41 mph at King Salmon. The front continued to weaken Monday...extending in a northwest-southeast line from Norton Sound to Kodiak at 4pm. Wind gusts locally reached 50 mph near Turnagain Arm and along the Anchorage upper hillside Sunday afternoon and early Monday morning.

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Eastern Aleutians

When: May 9, 6:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Eastern Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 47 kt (54 mph)

High Wind, Western Alaska Peninsula

When: May 10, 12:00 AM AST to May 11, 6:00 AM AST
Where: Western Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph)

High Wind, Bristol Bay Coastal

When: May 11, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Bristol Bay Coastal forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph)

High Wind, Cook Inlet-Susitna Valley

When: May 11, 12:00 PM AST to May 12, 3:00 AM AST
Where: Cook Inlet-Susitna Valley forecast zone
Measured: 43 kt (49 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 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, May 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: 5601425, 5601426, 5601428, 5601427.