High Wind in Alaska, November 27 to 30, 1997

Name: High Wind in Alaska, November 27 to 30, 1997
Start: 1997-11-27T12:00
End: 1997-11-30T12:00
Location: Alaska

November 27 to 30, 1997 · NWS AFC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

moving to about 240 miles west of Saint Paul Island as a 952mb center late Friday. The storm center then began a southeastward loop and also began to slowly weaken.

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 intensifying low moved into the extreme southwestern Bering Sea late Thursday...moving to about 240 miles west of Saint Paul Island as a 952mb center late Friday. The storm center then began a southeastward loop and also began to slowly weaken. By 3am Sunday the low was located just southwest of Cold Bay as a 971mb center. Initially on Thursday...wind gusts reached close to 55 mph ahead of the front...affecting the western and central Aleutians. By Friday, the front had elongated way in advance of the storm...and winds inadvance of it were no longer significant. Instead...strong northwesterly winds were observed on the "back", west semicircle of the storm center...where gusts between 60 and 65 mph were recorded both along the Aleutians and in the central Bering Sea.

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Aleutian Islands

When: November 27, 12:00 PM AST to November 30, 12:00 PM AST
Where: Aleutian Islands forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When: November 27, 12:00 PM AST to November 30, 6:00 AM AST
Where: Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 mph)

High Wind, Western Alaska Peninsula

When: November 28, 6:00 AM AST to November 30, 6:00 AM AST
Where: Western Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 48 kt (55 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, 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: 5620693, 5620695, 5620694.