High Wind in Alaska, January 20 to 21, 1999

Wednesday, January 20th, marked the beginning of a major weather change for Alaska and its vast offshore water areas. This event, was just the beginning of a rollercoaster chain of events that were to follow during the next 5 days.A moderate low, just to the northwest of Attu, deepened slowly...bringing wind gusts of 50 mph to the southwestern Bering Sea. At the same time a strong arctic front, with temperature differences of more than 80 degrees from one airmass to the other, stretched in a southeastward arc from just north of the southwestern Bering low to Sand Point along the Alaska Peninsula. Warmer air aloft, ahead of a complex but major weather system developing in the southwestern Pacific, pushed the arctic front temporarily northeastward toward the southwest Alaskan Coast...causing moderate southeasterly winds to blow along the western capes of both Bristol Bay and Kuskokwim Delta coastal sections. At Cape Newenham (along the border of the two areas, southeast wind gusts reached 48 mph on Wednesday and 52 mph on Thursday. Wind gusts of 43 mph were reported at Mekoryuk on Nunivak Island early Thursday morning. The moderate southeast winds were accompanied by near blizzard conditions in blowing snow and wind chills near 40 below. Winds temporarily diminished Thursday as the arctic front began to reform further southwest.