High Wind in Alaska, September 20 to 23, 1997

Name: High Wind in Alaska, September 20 to 23, 1997
Start: 1997-09-20T00:00
End: 1997-09-23T12:00
Location: Alaska

September 20 to 23, 1997 · NWS AFC · 3 events in 2 counties and zones

Remains of ex-typhoon David moved just south of Amchitka (in the central Aleutians) late Saturday. A second system was "ejected" northwestward into the Gulf of Alaska in advance of this system.

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.

Remains of ex-typhoon David moved just south of Amchitka (in the central Aleutians) late Saturday. A second system was "ejected" northwestward into the Gulf of Alaska in advance of this system. Winds in the Gulf of Alaska adjacent to the central North Gulf Coast reached speeds close to 45 mph. Ahead of the low that was once Typhoon David, wind gusts reached close to 45 mph...however much stronger western winds gusting close to 60 mph were observed on the "back" side of the low. Brisk northwest winds continued for a stretch in the eastern Aleutians well after the ex-typhoon moved to some 450 miles south of Kodiak Monday.

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Eastern Aleutians

When: September 20, 12:00 AM AST to September 21, 12:00 PM AST
Where: Eastern Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)

High Wind, Eastern Aleutians

When: September 22, 12:00 AM AST to September 23, 12:00 PM AST
Where: Eastern Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 mph)

High Wind, Central Gulf Coast

When: September 22, 12:00 AM AST to 3:00 PM AST
Where: Central Gulf Coast forecast zone
Measured: 40 kt (46 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, September 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: 5618038, 5618039, 5618040.