High Wind in Alaska, May 12 to 14, 1999

A strong, 969 mb low in the North Pacific moved to within 200 miles south of Amchitka Island in the central Aleutians early Thursday. The low then began to slowly drift east, weakening significantly about 180 miles southeast of Adak late Friday afternoon. A moderate to strong front preceded the low, moving into the central Aleutians late Thursday morning, then elongating north and eastward into the southern Bering Sea and extreme northeast Pacific. Brisk easterly winds preceded the front across the central and eastern Aleutians, the western Alaska Peninsula and the Pribilofs.Across the Aleutians, strong easterly winds gusting in excess of 55 mph were reported from Wednesday evening through Thursday morning. Adjusted ASOS gusts reached 63 mph at Adak between 7 pm ADT and 8 pm ADT Wednesday. At Dutch Harbor, wind gusts of 58 mph or higher were reported from Thursday afternoon into Friday morning. Gusts from the east southeast, locally influenced by terrain, reached 73 mph around the Dutch Harbor airport between 6 am ADT and 10 am ADT Thursday. The NOAA research ship "Miller Freeman", in the southcentral Bering Sea, reported pre-frontal, sustained winds of 46 mph just before midnight ADT Wednesday and 47 mph on their 10 am ADT observation Thursday. Across the Pribilofs, pre-frontal, adjusted ASOS gusts as high as 58 mph were reported at Saint George Island Thursday morning between 9am ADT and noon ADT.Along the Alaska Peninsula, Cold Bay reached an ASOS adjusted 67 mph from the southeast at 12:14am ADT Friday.