Alaska, 1997

High Wind in Alaska, November 1 to 3, 1997

November 1 to 3, 1997 · NWS AFC · 4 events in 3 counties and zones

A moderate frontal system moving eastward through the Bering Sea was preceded by brisk southeast winds across the Aleutians, the Pribilofs, the Alaska Peninsula and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Coast. Gusts ranged from 40 to near 55 mph across the area.

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.

A moderate frontal system moving eastward through the Bering Sea was preceded by brisk southeast winds across the Aleutians, the Pribilofs, the Alaska Peninsula and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Coast. Gusts ranged from 40 to near 55 mph across the area. A moderate 972mb low developed along the front in the central Aleutians Saturday morning...moved to Cold Bay as a 967mb center early Sunday, then slowly drifted north into western Bristol Bay late Sunday where it began to weaken and curve northwestward. Gusty west winds were observed along the back side of the low, where sustained winds reached close to 60 mph along the eastern Aleutians and western Alaska Peninsula.

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When
November 1, 6:00 AM AST to November 2, 6:00 AM AST
Where
Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured
43 kt (49 mph)

High Wind, Yukon Delta

When
November 1, 6:00 AM AST to November 2, 6:00 AM AST
Where
Yukon Delta forecast zone
Measured
40 kt (46 mph)

High Wind, Cape Fairweather to Cape Suckling-Coastal Area

When
November 2, 6:00 AM AST to November 3, 3:00 PM AST
Where
Cape Fairweather to Cape Suckling-Coastal Area forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When
November 2, 12:00 PM AST
Where
Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured
50 kt (58 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 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, November 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: 5620665, 5620666, 5620667, 5620668.