High Wind in Alaska, April 1 to 3, 1998

An intense 955mb storm moved northeast through the central Aleutians Tuesday afternoon, weakening to a 964mb center over the Pribilofs Thursday afternoon. A moderate front, extending in an arc around the low, moved through Saint Matthew Island, Hooper Bay (along the southwest Alaskan coast) and Port Heiden along the Alaska Peninsula Thursday afternoon. By Friday morning, the low had weakened considerably just northeast of Saint Matthew Island with the front weakening in an arc from the Bering Strait to lower Cook Inlet then southeast and south across the Pacific. Strong southeasterly winds preceded the front across the Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula, as well as southwest Alaska, gusting from 50 to near 60 mph at many exposed areas. By Thursday, winds in advance of the front had diminished a bit with gusts from 40 to near 50 mph. An exception, however, occurred through Turnagain Arm, where glacier induced wind gusts reached 74 mph at the Portage ASOS early Friday. However, very strong westerly winds raged across the Aleutians and southeastern Bering exposures on the "back" side of the storm where gusts reached close to 80 mph. Damage, mostly to roof structures, was reported at Adak and Cold Bay.