Heavy Snow and High Wind in Alaska, March 30 to 31, 1999

Name: Heavy Snow and High Wind in Alaska, March 30 to 31, 1999
Start: 1999-03-30T18:00
End: 1999-03-31T23:59
Location: Alaska

March 30 to 31, 1999 · NWS AFC · 12 events in 8 counties and zones

A moderate to strong front, associated with a moderate low, moved through the eastern Aleutians Wednesday on its way northeastward into the State. Unofficial reports indicated that winds around the city of Cordova, late Wednesday, channelled through Eyak Lake, may have exceeded 80 mph.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

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 moderate to strong front, associated with a moderate low, moved through the eastern Aleutians Wednesday on its way northeastward into the State. Increasingly strong southeast winds developed ahead of the front...diminishing abruptly as the front passed.Unofficial reports indicated that winds around the city of Cordova, late Wednesday, channelled through Eyak Lake, may have exceeded 80 mph. In the Cordova Boat Harbor, a houseboat registered a 67 mph gust Wednesday night. Winds at the Middleton Island AWOS, and at the deep water buoys located at the southeast entrance to Prince William Sound, gusted up to 63 mph late Wednesday.Along the upper Anchorage Hillside, wind gusts reached 78 mph at Glen Alps Wednesday evening. At the Portage Visitor Center, blizzard conditions were reported for most of Wednesday.Winds were gusty in other areas ahead of the front, gusting between 40 and 50 mph across Kodiak Island from noon to just before midnight Wednesday.Across the Alaska Peninsula, adjusted ASOS wind gusts topped out at 52 mph Wednesday as reported at Cold Bay.Adjusted east wind gusts at the Iliamna ASOS reached 61 mph Wednesday.Peak winds reached 40 mph from the south at the Gulkana airport Wednesday.Adjusted ASOS winds gusted to 58 mph at the Palmer airport in the Matanuska Valley late Wednesday.The parent low reached at least as low as 972 mbs about 200 miles south of Seguam Island 3am Wednesday, turning on an eastward track that took it just south of the Alaska Peninsula Wednesday night. Part of the original occlusion, to the north northwest of the center, merged with the arctic front late Wednesday. Cold air, modified across the open waters of the north Pacific and Gulf of Alaska, wrapped around the parent low and caused the arctic front to form south of the low late Wednesday. Brisk west and northwest winds began to develop along the back side of the low and behind the north northwest/south southeast extending arctic front. Wind gusts reached 60 mph at both Adak and Dutch Harbor Wednesday on the back side of the low.Brisk north wind gusts were reported across the Pribilofs Wednesday, with speeds reaching 63 mph. Additionally, heavy snows were reported along the eastern part of the Kenai Peninsula, around Turnagain Arm and Prince William Sound, into the Copper River Basin. Close to a foot of new snow fell Wednesday from Seward into Turnagain Arm (along the Seward Highway). Another foot of new snow was recorded at the Nelchina Highway Camp along the Glenn Highway west of Glennallen. Around Valdez, 2-3 feet of new snow was reported...with just under a foot at the Ernestine DOT Camp at milepost 302 on the Richardson Highway.

Event by event

9 high wind, 3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Aleutian Islands

When: March 30, 6:00 PM AST to March 31, 11:59 PM AST
Where: Aleutian Islands forecast zone
Measured: 51 kt (59 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Bristol Bay Coastal

When: March 31, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Bristol Bay Coastal forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Copper River Basin

When: March 31, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Copper River Basin forecast zone
Measured: 35 kt (40 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Central Gulf Coast

When: March 31, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Central Gulf Coast forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

Heavy Snow, Copper River Basin

When: March 31, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Copper River Basin forecast zone
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When: March 31, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heavy Snow, Cook Inlet

When: March 31, 12:00 AM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Cook Inlet forecast zone
Reported by: NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)

High Wind, Kodiak Island-Eastern Alaska Peninsula

When: March 31, 12:00 PM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Kodiak Island-Eastern Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 43 kt (49 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Central Gulf Coast

When: March 31, 3:00 PM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Central Gulf Coast forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

High Wind, Cook Inlet

When: March 31, 3:00 PM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Cook Inlet forecast zone
Measured: 85 kt (98 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Susitna Valley

When: March 31, 3:00 PM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Susitna Valley forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Susitna Valley

When: March 31, 6:00 PM AST to 11:59 PM AST
Where: Susitna Valley forecast zone
Measured: 50 kt (58 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.
Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, March 1999

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: 5681926, 5681931, 5681932, 5681933, 5681934, 5681936, 5681937, 5681930, 5681927, 5681928, 5681929, 5681935.