High Wind in Alaska, October 12, 2002

Name: High Wind in Alaska, October 12, 2002
Start: 2002-10-12T06:35
End: 2002-10-12T23:00
Location: Alaska

October 12, 2002 · NWS AFC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 high wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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 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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 12, 1:57 AM AST, 4 hours 38 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 12, 1:57 AM AST, 4 hours 38 minutes before

SOUTH/SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1000 PM ADT FRI OCT 11 2002

ANALYSIS...1002 MB LOW MOVG INTO PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND ATTM WILL
DISSIPATE BY SAT AFTN. RIDGE BLDG IN BEHIND IT ALG THE
NGLFCST..WHICH REMAINS INTO MON MORNING.

OLD 985MB LOW NEAR 56N/180 SLOLY WEAKENING INTO SAT AM..BEFORE
MEGG WITH INCOMING STRONG PAC LOW SAT NIGHT. 976MB LOW NEAR
47N/171W ATTM TO MOVE TO VCY PADU BY 06Z SUN AT 966MB. LOW CONTS
TO PAMY BY 06Z MON WKNG TO 984MB. WEAKER 3PLE PT LOW FORMS ALG
THE ASSOCD OCFNT 18Z SUN NR 52N/148W AND MOVS TO NE GLFLASK BY
12Z MON.

OVERALL PATTERN FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS IS ON THE WARMER SIDE FOR
SCNTRL AK AS SOUTHERLY FLOW CONTS OVER THE AREA INTO DAY 7.  NOT
MUCH OF A CHANCE OF SNOW YET. SERIES OF LOWS CONT TO MOVE TOWARD
BRISTOL BAY AREA.

FORECASTS...RAIN OVR MOST OF SCNTRL CONTS UNTIL LOW OVER PWS
WEAKENS AND RDG BUILDS IN. NEXT SYSTEM TO BRING NEAR WARNING
CRITERIA WINDS TO AKPEN/ERN ALUTNS SAT AND SAT NIGHT. WITH SRLY
FLOW OVER SCNTRL...COOLER N-NW FLOW TO PUSH INTO THE CNTRL/WRN
ALUTNS THRU DAY 3.

.AFC...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...GALES 2B, 5AB, 6AB, 12A/A1/B, 13.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

DAC OCT 02

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Eastern Aleutians

When: October 12, 6:35 AM AST to 3:35 PM AST
Where: Eastern Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 88 kt (101 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Alaska Peninsula

When: October 12, 8:00 PM AST to 11:00 PM AST
Where: Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 78 kt (90 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Strong east winds ahead of a cold front moving through the Aleutians reached 80-90mph for a few hours on Saturday before diminishing.

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

Every storm in Alaska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, October 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: 5319785, 5319784.