High Wind in Alaska, September 24 to 26, 2002

Name: High Wind in Alaska, September 24 to 26, 2002
Start: 2002-09-24T12:58
End: 2002-09-26T19:25
Location: Alaska

September 24 to 26, 2002 · NWS AFC · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

An strong low moved through the central Aleutians into the Bering Sea with the cold front elongating east Tuesday into Wednesday. The low intensified to 958 mbs.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 AFC wrote it up.

An strong low moved through the central Aleutians into the Bering Sea with the cold front elongating east Tuesday into Wednesday. The low intensified to 958 mbs. Wednesday before slowly weakening Wednesday night and Thursday. Strong southeast winds were reported in advance of the front. Intense west winds were observed on the southwest semi-circle of the low.Zone 185--Dutch Harbor airport reported a gust to 61 mph in advance of the front. The winds decreased after frontal passage, then increased to 81 mph from the southwest on the back side of the low. 60+ mph winds were primarily limited to the Dutch Harbor airport area.Zone 191--Winds at several reporting stations reached 60+ mph by Tuesday afternoon. Winds decreased briefly, following frontal passage early Wednesday, then increased again late Wednesday into early Thursday.Zone 195--By adjusting 5-second average ASOS wind gusts, it was determined that winds at St. George did reach at least 60 mph from the southeast Wednesday morning in advance of the storm and from the west on the back side of the low late Wednesday into early Thursday.

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 Sep 24, 11:00 AM AST, 1 hour 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 24, 11:00 AM AST, 1 hour 58 minutes before

SOUTH/SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1200 PM ADT WED SEP 24 2002

ANALYSIS...NOW BEGINNING TO WEAKEN 1006 MB LOW NOW MOVING INTO
KENAI FIORDS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE NORTH NORTHEAST ABOUT 20 KTS
AND BEGIN WEAKEN. SYSTEM HAS APPARENT SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE
ASSOCIATED WITH IT...AND IS PRODUCING VERY SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL
ALONG SOUTHERN EXPOSURES.  THIS HAS PROMPTED SMALL STREAM FLOOD
ADVISORIES IN SEWARD AND HOMER/NINILCHIK/ANCHOR POINT AREAS.
KENAI FIORD AREA UNDOUBTEDLY HAS RECEIVED EVEN MORE RAIN.
ADDITIONALLY...GALE EASTERLY WINDS PRECEED THE SYSTEM...WITH
LOCAL STORM GUSTS WHERE CHANNELED BY TERRAIN SUCH AS TURNAGAIN
ARM AND UPPER ANCHORAGE HILLSIDE. THESE WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH
PRETTY QUICKLY TONIGHT AS SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH.
APPARENT SECOND FRONTAL LOW FURTHER SOUTH...JUST EAST OF KODIAK
AT THE MOMENT...APPEARS HEADING MORE NORTHEAST UNDER FIRST
SYSTEM...WILL LIKELY CONTINUE HEAVY RAIN AND SIGNIFICANT EASTERLY
WIND AT ENTRANCE TO PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND MARINE AREA AND AROUND
SOUTHEAST PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND LAND ZONE FOR REMAINDER OF
TONIGHT.

INTENSE 952 MB STORM NOW JUST NORTHEAST OF AMCHITKA...STILL
POSSESSES TROPICAL MOISTURE AND EXTREMELY STRONG WINDS. BAND OF
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS JUST IN ADVANCE OF EX-FEEDER BAND..NOW
FRONT..AND ABOUT 240 MILES SOUTH SEMI-CIRCLE OF STORM. STORM
WINDS ALSO EXTEND GOOD 240 MILES WEST QUADRANT OF SYSTEM ALSO.

FORECASTS...
AS FIRST SYSTEM APPROACHING KENAI FIORDS MOVES NORTH NORTHEAST
AND BECOMES DIFFUSE INLAND TONIGHT...SECOND ONE APPEARS HEADED
TOWARD MIDDLETON ISLAND BY 12Z WEDNESDAY...THEN NORTHEAST INLAND
AND WEAKENING THEREAFTER.

INTENSE STORM MOVING NORTHEAST EXPECTED TO BE JUST SOUTHWEST OF
SAINT PAUL ISLAND 12Z THURSDAY.  STRONG WINDS AROUND SOUTH SEMIR
FRONT MOVING OUT AHEAD OF STORM...SLOWLY LOSING PUNCH...EXPECTED
TO EXTEND THROUGH YUKON DELTA TO NEAR KING SALMON TO KODIAK
ISLAND THEN IN SOUTHWARD ARC 12Z THURSDAY.
HURRICANE FORCE WINDS AROUND SOUTH SEMICIRCLE OF STORM WILL BE
SLOWEST TO DIMINISH...WITH WINDS ALONG WEST QUADRANT ALSO VERY
SLOW TO DIMINISH.  PRE-FRONTAL WINDS...HOWEVER...WILL DIMINISH
MORE RAPIDLY AS FRONT MOVES FURTHER OUT FROM CENTER.

HAVE LOOKED AT POTENTIAL FOR COASTAL FLOOD PROBLEM ALONG
SOUTHWEST COAST...HOWEVER CURRENT INDICATIONS ARE THAT EFFECTS OF

WIND AND FETCH WILL KEEP MAX SEAS TO THAT OF MEAN HIGH HIGHER
WATER.

.AFC...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING ALEUTIANS.
         HIGH WIND WATCH AK PEN AND PRIBILOFS.
MARINE...HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ALEUTIANS AND SOUTH SIDE OF STORM.
         STORM WEST SIDE OF STORM CENTER.
         STORM TO HURRICANE FORCE WIND IN ADVANCE OF
             FRONT...DIMINISHING TO ONLY STORM EARLY WEDNESDAY
             THEN GALE TO LOCAL STORM THEREAFTER.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

D SEP 02

Event by event

3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Western Aleutians

When: September 24, 12:58 PM AST to September 25, 8:15 PM AST
Where: Western Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 62 kt (71 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Eastern Aleutians

When: September 25, 12:35 AM AST to September 26, 7:25 PM AST
Where: Eastern Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 72 kt (83 mph)
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When: September 25, 4:30 AM AST to September 26, 4:30 AM AST
Where: Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured: 52 kt (60 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

Every storm in Alaska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, September 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: 5314506, 5314507, 5314508.