Name: High Wind in Alaska, February 22 to 24, 1998
Start: 1998-02-22T00:00
End: 1998-02-24T23:59
Location: Alaska

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 7

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 very intense 941mb storm crossed the Aleutians about 90 miles west of Amchitka at 9am Sunday from its origins in the western North Pacific. Winds of 92 mph were recorded by the M/V "Hekabe" (which temporarily lost power in 40 foot seas just southwest of Adak as a result of the storm). Reported winds along the Aleutians were reported as high as 70 mph (in gusts) on Sunday and Monday, slowly diminishing Tuesday. Winds at Saint Paul gusted up to 54 mph on Sunday just before 6pm, producing blizzard conditions in snow and blowing snow. Winds at Cold Bay gusted between 43 and 59 mph (Sunday at 5:50pm) from Sunday through Tuesday night. At Cape Newenham, gusts reached 54 mph very early Monday and 58 mph at Cape Romanzof between 3 and 5am on the same day. Prefrontal easterly winds gusted to 70 mph between 7:30 and 8pm Monday and to 52 mph between midnight and 1am Tuesday at the Portage ASOS. At Middleton Island, just south of the entrance to Prince William Sound, prefrontal winds reached 58 mph.

Event by event

7 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Aleutian Islands

When: February 22, 12:00 AM AST to February 24, 3:00 AM AST
Where: Aleutian Islands forecast zone
Measured: 80 kt (92 mph)

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When: February 22, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured: 47 kt (54 mph)

High Wind, Western Alaska Peninsula

When: February 22, 12:00 PM AST to February 24, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Western Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph)

High Wind, Kuskokwim Valley

When: February 23, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Kuskokwim Valley forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)

High Wind, Cook Inlet

When: February 23, 12:00 AM AST to February 24, 6:00 AM AST
Where: Cook Inlet forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)

High Wind, Central Gulf Coast

When: February 23, 3:00 PM AST to February 24, 9:00 AM AST
Where: Central Gulf Coast forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)

High Wind, Bristol Bay Coastal

When: February 24, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Bristol Bay Coastal forecast zone
Measured: 47 kt (54 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 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, February 1998

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: 5628691, 5628692, 5628693, 5628695, 5628696, 5628823, 5628694.