High Wind in Alaska, December 19 to 21, 2000

A strengthening 963 mb low moved northwestward toward Cold Bay late Tuesday morning and early Tuesday afternoon, moving to 60 miles north northwest of saint Paul Island at 3 am Wednesday and weakening to 973 mbs.The front associated with this low, extending in an arc to Sand Point and east southeast at 9 am Tuesday, moved northwest into the eastern Bering Sea. By 3 am Wednesday, the front lay in a long arc from the northern Bering to just west of Nunivak Island into northeast Bristol Bay.The front was preceded by strong east and southeast winds. In the Bristol Bay area, prefrontal gusts reached: 62 mph at Egegik between 3 and 6 pm Tuesday. 60 mph briefly at Port Heiden between 4 and 5 am Tuesday. At Cape Newenham, gusts of 60 + mph were first observed just after noon Tuesday, peaking at 66 mph between 2:55 and 3:55 pm, diminishing below 60 mph by 8 pm Tuesday. East southeast winds at Togiak peaked at just under 60 mph Tuesday evening. Around Kodiak Island, gusts reached: 60 + mph at Sitkinak between 10 am Tuesday and 3 pm Tuesday. 64 mph at Booth Lake between 2 and 3pm Tuesday. Along the Kuskokwim Delta, very infrequent observations pegged highest winds at 59 pm at Cape Romanzof just before 6 am Wednesday. Gusts reached 60 + mph at Mekoryuk just after 2 am Wednesday, peaking at 64 mph between 2:55 and 3:15 am, with last gusts of 60 + mph reported just before 4 am. A frontal low, developing 600 miles south of Cordova at 3 pm Tuesday, intensified to 978 mbs as it moved to 150 miles southeast of Kodiak at 9 am Wednesday. The low then moved into southwest Alaska where it rapidly began to weaken just southwest of Stoney River at 9 pm Wednesday. The front associated with this second low moved north and northwest...onshore of the north-central Gulf Coast and into the northwest Alaska Range at 9 pm Wednesday...rapidly dissipating thereafter. Brisk east and northeast winds preceded the front. Gusts at Augustine Island reached 62 mph between noon and 1 pm Wednesday. Gusts at Middleton Island briefly peaked at 68 mph at frontal passage between 9:55 am and 10:15 am Wednesday. At Portage, gusts of 60 + mph began just after 10 am Wednesday, peaking at 75 mph between 3 and 4 pm, with gusts going below 60 mph after 4:24 pm. East wind gusts of 60 mph were also reported from the Whittier Harbor from 2 - 4 pm Wednesday. Lightning and thunder accompaniedfrontal passage around Seward, where a funnel was reported by the general public Wednesday. Gusts along the upper Anchorage hillside reached 60 + mph just after 11 am Wednesday, peaking at 74 mph just prior to midnight, diminishing below 60 mph after 2 am Thursday. Gusts at Site Summit, a remote BLM system located just above the 3900' of the mountains just east of Anchorage, reached 85 mph early Wednesday and 128 mph between 8 and 9 pm Wednesday, with gusts of 85 mph still recorded at 3 am Thursday. At Pilot Rock, near the entrance to Resurrection Bay, winds peaked at 67 mph as the front passed around 2 pm Wednesday. Strong winds were also reported around Seward. An anemometer at Cook Inlet Processing across the bay measured a peak wind gust of 83 mph at 3:45 pm. A thunderstorm was also reported later that evening. Damage was limited to shingles and torn siding. Along the Kenai Peninsula, gusts of 51 mph were reported at the Seldovia airport with gusts of 55 mph reported at the Homer Spit between 7:20 and 8:00 pm Wednesday. Sparse data indicates that these reports were less than peak winds in the zone.