High Wind, Denali
- When
- March 15, 7:51 PM AST to March 16, 7:46 PM AST
- Where
- Denali forecast zone
- Measured
- 48 kt (55 mph)
- Reported by
- OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
High Wind in Alaska, March 15 to 16, 2002
High winds developed through the passes of the Central Alaska Range as a trough of low pressure developed north of the mountains. To the south of the mountains, a strong ridge of high pressure extended from a 1040mb high centered over the southern Yukon Territory of Canada.
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.
High winds developed through the passes of the Central Alaska Range as a trough of low pressure developed north of the mountains. To the south of the mountains, a strong ridge of high pressure extended from a 1040mb high centered over the southern Yukon Territory of Canada. A significant pressure differential between these two features resulted in the development of increased wind speeds. Warning criteria winds were realized as these winds were channelled through the narrow mountain passes. The weather observer in Healy reported winds of 48 knots (55mph).
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Avalanche in Colorado, March 15, 2002
- Tornadoes and Hail in Mississippi, March 15 to 16, 2002
- Heat in Georgia, March 15 to 21, 2002
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Kentucky, March 15, 2002
- Winter Storm in Michigan, March 15, 2002
- Lightning Strike in Tennessee, March 15, 2002
- Blizzard in Alaska, March 15 to 16, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Oregon, March 15 to 17, 2002
- Frost and Freeze in California, March 15, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Washington, March 15 to 17, 2002
- Blizzard and High Wind in Alaska, March 15, 2002
- Heavy Snow in Washington, March 15 to 17, 2002
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 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: 5285014.