Name: High Wind in Alaska, December 12, 2002
Start: 2002-12-12T00:00
End: 2002-12-12T03:00
Location: Alaska

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 AJK wrote it up.

An offshore 955 mb Low resulted in the next strong frontal passage in southern Southeast Alaska. On the roof of the Ketchikan Airport Terminal south-southeast wind gusts as high as 67 mph (58 knots) were measured. Spotters in Craig estimated 60 mph wind gusts and the Cape Decision AWOS measured a peak gust to 58 mph (50 knots). Once again no injuries and only minor damage was reported.

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 Juneau, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 11, 9:45 PM AST, 2 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 11, 9:45 PM AST, 2 hours 15 minutes before

SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
945 PM AST WED DEC 11 2002

.SYNOPSIS...
.SHORT RANGE...
THE SECOND WAVE MOVING ALONG A FRONT IN THE EASTERN GULF IS
HEADED TOWARDS THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE TONIGHT. THE LOW LOOKS TO
BE AROUND 964 MB AT 5Z. NEITHER THE AVN OR ETA IS HANDLING IT
PARTICULARLY WELL BUT THE ETA SEEMS CLOSER WITH THE TRACK OF LOW
MOVING UP THE COAST. THE LOW IS BOTH DEEPER AND A LITTLE FASTER
THAN THE ETA. THE DECIDING FACTOR FOR THE STRENGTH OF THE WIND
EVENT GENERATED LATE TONIGHT AND TOMORROW MORNING WILL BE THE
TRACK WHICH THE LOW FOLLOWS. I AM STILL UNCERTAIN ABOUT WHERE
EXACTLY THE LOW WILL DECIDE IT WANTS TO GO BUT CONSIDERING ITS
DEPTH THE ADVISORIES AND WATCH WHICH WE HAVE OUT SEEM REASONABLE
TO KEEP GOING.

.LONG RANGE...
A 5H TROF OVER MAINLAND ALASKA WILL CONTINUE TO SHOOT SHORTWAVES
AT THE JUNEAU FORECAST AREA THROUGH THE EXTENDED.  THIS WILL
CONTINUE TO BRING PERIODS OF PRECIPITATION AND STRONG WINDS
TROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE IN
THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON ACCORDING TO THE LATEST
00Z RUN OF THE AVN. THE 00Z MESOETA SAVES THE STRONGEST WINDS FOR
SATURDAY MORNING...ALSO IN THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE. WINDS IN THE
NORTHERN PANHANDLE AND EASTERN GULF HAVE MORE OF AN EASTERLY
COMPONENT AND ARE NOT AS STRONG THOSE PERIODS.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING ZONES 27 AND 28
         WIND ADVISORY ALL OTHER ZONES EXCEPT 24
MARINE...SCA 1A1
         GALES ALL OTHER WATERS

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision-Coastal Area

When: December 12, 12:00 AM AST to 3:00 AM AST
Where: Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision-Coastal Area forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER

High Wind, Southern Southeast Alaska Ernest Sound to Dixon Entrance

When: December 12, 12:00 AM AST to 3:00 AM AST
Where: Southern Southeast Alaska Ernest Sound to Dixon Entrance forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph)
Property damage: $5,000
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, December 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: 5321604, 5321605.