High Wind in Alaska, January 18 to 19, 2001

A deepening 968 mb low 300 miles south of Middleton Island late Thursday morning, with its front in an east southeast arc, moved rapidly northwest. By 3 am Friday, the low had weakened to a 975 mb center just southwest of McGrath with its front arcing east through the east-central Alaskan interior. Strong easterly winds preceded the front, with gusty southeast winds immediately following frontal passage.Wind gusts at Middleton Island Thursday morning first reached 60+ mph after 10:55 am. Gusts peaked at 78 mph between 6:15 and 6:35 pm Thursday. Wind gusts diminished below 60 mph several hours after frontal passage at 8:15 pm Thursday. Gusts at the Prince William Sound Science Center reached 84 mph lae Wednesday and Thursday.One Cordova resident took a walk along Power Creek Road after the storm and coutned 67 trees downed by the wind between the last house and the culvert at the spawning area. The resident reported "the wind came from a really weird direction", which would indicate meso circulations embedded in the larger flow...or williwaws.Damage also included roofs, buildings along the foot of the western slopes of Mount Eyak, and damage to Cannery Row, in Cordova's Waterfront Historical District (serious roof damage, siding and interior damage). A mobile home was a total loss. As another resident relayed "But the really interesting thing was the 3-by-6 (foot) window that was literally sucked out of one building, blew 150 feet and sliced open the top of another building."Thursday also saw wind gusts reach 75 mph at Whittier between 6:50 pm and 7:48 pm Thursday as the front moved past the area. At Portage, east winds above 60 mph were first recorded after 9:05 am Thursday, reaching 104 mph between 7:53 pm and 8:53 pm. Gusts at the site finally diminished below 60 mph after midnight.Around Portage, hurricane force winds of at least 104 mph "...walloped Portage and Turnagain Arm with driving rain and hurricane-force winds Thursday night, and in the process destroyed buildings, toppled trees and knocked out power" according to a front page, main headline news story carried in the Anchorage Daily News Saturday morning. Rainfall topped 5 inches 5.29" in 24 hours ending at 3 am Friday at the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center) from the storm. In the Portage area, during the height of the blow, a "40-foot-by-60-foot pole barn rented by Porage resident Steve Mendive was demolished. Beams of 4-by-12-inch wood snapped and plywood siding was shredded" according to the Saturday, January 20th Anchorage Daily News article. Damage from Girdwood to Portage to Hope was estimated at least $100,000 to barns, cabins, buildings, vehicles and trees. Wind was blowing so hard that it "forced water through the chinks in the Millers' log home". The wind also ripped away all of Big Game Alaska's signs. In the small community along Portage Creek, a roof soared from another barn and flattened a Subaru station wagon. Part of the roof at the Portage Glacier Lodge was yanked off by the williwaw' winds. According to roofers repairing the damage, "...there are 12-foot beams that were buried in the ground about a foot and a half".Roads from the Knik River to Prince William Sound were also reported slick. Some neighborhood streets were so slick that "...the U.S. Postal Service warned that letter carriers might not make deliveries in dangerous areas" according to the Daily News article. Power in Bird, Indian, Girdwood, Hope and Moose Pass was out for a period, affecting 300 - 500 customers in the sparsely populated areas around Turnagain Arm. Two highways were blocked due to avalanches, one near mile 7.4 (or 8.5?) along the Old Glenn Highway Thursday night (snowslide) and one late Friday afternoon (mud, snow and broken trees) at Mile 105 of the Seward Highway. Along the Anchorage Hillside, wind gusts at or above 60 mph were recorded from 7pm Thursday through 6 am Friday. Peak winds of 75 mph were recorded at Glen Alps between 3 and 4 am. Winds at the Site Summit location (close to 4,000') were 60+ mph from 6pm Thursday to 5 am Friday, peaking at 129 mph with the 10 and 11 pm Thursday observations. Wind gusts at the site were above 120 mph through 4 am Friday.