High Wind in Alaska, November 5 to 9, 1998

Name: High Wind in Alaska, November 5 to 9, 1998
Start: 1998-11-05T18:00
End: 1998-11-09T09:00
Location: Alaska

November 5 to 9, 1998 · NWS AFC · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

slowly expanding northwestward and beginning to slowly weaken. By Saturday evening the storm had weakened considerably and split into two centers, one still close to Amchitka and the other about 300 miles to the northwest in the Bering Sea.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 strong 958 mb storm about 180 miles south of Shemya late Thursday evening moved into the central Aleutians near Amchitka Friday morning...slowly expanding northwestward and beginning to slowly weaken. By Saturday evening the storm had weakened considerably and split into two centers, one still close to Amchitka and the other about 300 miles to the northwest in the Bering Sea. The lows continued to slowly weaken...the first near Amchitka dissipating and the other slowly drifting north. By Monday afternoon the old low was no longer a factor in producing strong winds. The front associated with this strong low moved into the southern Bering and Eastern Aleutians late Friday, extending from the northernBering through Bristol Bay southeastward through the Alaska Peninsula, finally weakening from Saint Lawrence Island to King Salmon and the southern tip of Kodiak Island noon Monday. Strong southeast winds initially preceded the front...gusting as high as 77 mph as recorded at Cape Newenham late Saturday. By late Sunday and Monday, however, strongest winds in advance of the front were less than 45 mph. Additionally, brisk west to northwest winds wrapped around the initial storm center, producing gusts near 60 mph late Friday night and into Saturday across the extreme Western Aleutians. Strongest winds were:Location Date and time Direction and speed (mph)Cape Newenham 11/08/98 9:35pm East southeast gust 77 mphCold Bay 11/07/98 8:53am Southeast gust 68 mphKing Salmon 11/08/98 11:52am East gust 44 mphMekoryuk 11/07/98 10:54pm Southeast gust 53 mphCape Romanzof 11/07/98 1155pm East gust 50 mphIliamna 11/08/98 1:53pm East gust 44 mphKodiak 11/09/98 1:53 am East gust 40 mphSaint Paul 11/07/98 2:00 am Southeast gust 47 mphSaint George 11/07/98 3:00 am Southeast gust 50 mphShemya 11/07/98 9:00 am Northwest gust 56 mph

Event by event

6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Aleutian Islands

When: November 5, 6:00 PM AST to November 7, 9:00 AM AST
Where: Aleutian Islands forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When: November 6, 6:00 AM AST to November 7, 6:00 AM AST
Where: Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured: 43 kt (49 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Western Alaska Peninsula

When: November 6, 6:00 PM AST to November 7, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Western Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 59 kt (68 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Bristol Bay Coastal

When: November 7, 3:00 AM AST to November 8, 3:00 AM AST
Where: Bristol Bay Coastal forecast zone
Measured: 67 kt (77 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Kuskokwim Delta

When: November 7, 3:00 AM AST to November 8, 3:00 AM AST
Where: Kuskokwim Delta forecast zone
Measured: 46 kt (53 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Kodiak Island-Eastern Alaska Peninsula

When: November 8, 12:00 PM AST to November 9, 9:00 AM AST
Where: Kodiak Island-Eastern Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, November 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: 5672672, 5672677, 5672673, 5672674, 5672675, 5672676.