Name: High Wind in Alaska, August 29, 2002
Start: 2002-08-29T08:55
End: 2002-08-29T10:35
Location: Alaska

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 AFG wrote it up.

A 992mb low pressure system over the Chukchi Sea, coupled with a strong ridge across northern Alaska created a strong pressure gradient along the northwest coast. As a result, high winds developed around Cape Lisburne as the low deepened slightly to 990mb and moved slowly eastward before it retrograded back to the north. The Cape Lisburne AWOS reported wind gusts to nearly 50 mph.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 29, 7:45 AM AST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 29, 7:45 AM AST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
400 AM ADT THU AUG 29 2002

THE MODELS ARE IN GENERAL AGREEMENT UNTIL SATURDAY. THE ETA HAS MORE
RIDGING OVER THE EASTERN INTERIOR ON SATURDAY THAN THE AVN. SUNDAY
THROUGH TUESDAY THE MODELS AGREE WITH MOVING A RIDGE EAST ACROSS THE
BERING SEA AND ALASKA, THOUGH THE MRF HAS A FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL SHORT
WAVE APPROACHING THE NORTHERN BERING SEA FROM THE NORTHWEST ON SUNDAY.

THE ALASKA REGIONAL COORDINATION SURFACE MAP DEPICTS LOW PRESSURE 60
MILES SOUTH OF WRANGEL ISLAND. AT 400 PM THIS AFTERNOON THE LOW WILL
BE 180 MILES NORTHWEST OF BARROW WITH AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT
SOUTHWEST ACROSS THE CHUKCHI SEA AND A WARM FRONT SOUTH FROM THE LOW
TO NEAR AMBLER. AT 400 AM FRIDAY MORNING THE LOW WILL BE 275 MILES
NORTH OF PRUDHOE BAY WITH THE COLD FRONT EAST OF BARROW AND EXTENDING
SOUTHWEST TO JUST WEST OF GAMBELL AND FURTHER SOUTHWEST OVER THE
NORTHERN BERING SEA. AT 400 AM SATURDAY THE LOW WILL BE WELL NORTHEAST
OF 75 DEGREES LATITUDE WITH THE FRONT NEAR BARTER ISLAND TO A NEW LOW
PRESSURE OVER KOTZEBUE SOUND.

AN OCCLUSION MOVING NORTH OVER THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS TODAY WILL BE JUST
NORTH OF KODIAK ISLAND LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THE OCCLUSION WILL SLOW
DOWN AND BECOME NEARLY STATIONARY FROM DILLINGHAM TO SOUTH OF ANCHORAGE
TONIGHT. THE OCCLUSION WILL DISSIPATE FRIDAY.

BOTH FAIRBANKS RADAR AND THE CENTRAL WIND PROFILER SHOWED SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT. SHOWERS WERE SCATTERED OVER MUCH OF THE INTERIOR IN THE
SOUTHWEST FLOW AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT. THESE SHOWERS WILL MOVE A LITTLE
FURTHER EAST TODAY AS THE FRONT MOVES EAST. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWED
THE COLD FRONT MAKING SLOW PROGRESS EASTWARD ACROSS THE INTERIOR.
SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FRONT OVER SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA WERE
DISSIPATING. TEMPERATURES DROPPED QUITE A BIT OVER CLEAR AREAS BEHIND
THE FRONT. AT BARROW THE TEMPERATURE DROPPED TO 27 DEGREES.

SOUTHERLY DOWNSLOPING WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO 50 MPH TODAY
IN THE CAPE LISBURNE AREA OF ZONE 201. AT 100 AM OVERNIGHT WINDS GUSTED
TO 26 MPH AT CAPE LISBURNE. A WIND ADVISORY FOR 40 MPH GUSTS WILL BE IN
EFFECT FOR OTHER PARTS OF ZONE 201. FOR ZONES 207 AND 208 A WIND
ADVISORY WILL BE IN EFFECT FOR GUSTS TO 40 MPH. GALE FORCE WINDS ARE
EXPECTED FROM CAPE THOMPSON TO ICY CAPE, INCLUDING CAPE LISBURNE TODAY.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY

HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY FOR THE CAPE LISBURNE AREA.

GALE WARNING AREA 10B, CAPE THOMPSON TO CAPE LISBURNE.
GALE WARNING AREA 11A, CAPE LISBURNE TO ICY CAPE.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY AREA 10B, WALES TO CAPE THOMPSON.
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY AREA 11A, ICY CAPE TO CAPE HALKETT.

DA AUG 02

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Western Arctic Coast

When: August 29, 8:55 AM AST to 10:35 AM AST
Where: Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
Measured: 41 kt (47 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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, August 2002

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: 5313143.