Alaska, 2003

High Wind in Alaska, April 6, 2003

April 6, 2003 · NWS AJK · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A front moving up from the southwest lifted through the southern Panhandle on the morning of April 6. This front was rotating around a 972mb Low that was located in the North Pacific (near 53degN, 149degW).

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 AJK wrote it up.

A front moving up from the southwest lifted through the southern Panhandle on the morning of April 6. This front was rotating around a 972mb Low that was located in the North Pacific (near 53degN, 149degW). As this front swept through, a low level jet surfaced advisory criteria winds (equal or greater than 40 knots). In Hydaburg, along the southwest coast of Prince of Wales Island, a rouge wind gust to 59 knots (68 mph) was recorded. No damage nor injuries were 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 Apr 6, 9:45 AM AST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 6, 9:45 AM AST, 2 hours 40 minutes before
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1045 AM ADT SUN APR 6 2003

.SHORT RANGE...A GULF STORM WITH A 970 MB LOW CENTERED NEAR
52/150 SSW OF KODIAK WILL SWING ITS OCCLUDED FRONT THROUGH
SOUTHEAST ALASKA LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT. FROPA WILL START BY
00Z ALONG THE OUTER PANHANDLE COAST AND FINALLY THROUGH SKAGWAY
AND YAKUTAT BY 12Z MONDAY MORNING. WINDS ARE INCREASING THIS
MORNING IN PARTS OF THE PANHANDLE. WIND ADVISORIES ARE UP FOR THE
SOUTHERN PANHANDLE. GALES ARE UP FOR THE SOUTHERN CHANNELS AND
CROSS SOUND AND THE OUTER COASTAL WATERS...WITH SMALL CRAFT ADV
OTHER CHANNELS. COLDER AIR ALOFT AFTER THE FRONTAL PASSAGE WILL
BRING SHOWERS...THOUGH 850 MB TEMPS -4 C OR WARMER SHOULD KEEP
THESE MOSTLY LIQUID.

.LONG RANGE...NO MAJOR CHANGES IN THE MODELS SINCE YESTERDAY. THE
VERTICALLY STACKED LOW IN THE GULF WILL WEAKEN THROUGH THE DAY
MONDAY AS IT DRIFTS SLOWLY NORTH. THE SECOND WRAP OF THE
OCCLUSION WILL MOVE INTO PANHANDLE AND REINTENSIFY PRECIPITATION
KEEPING THE RAIN GOING THROUGH MONDAY. MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY
THE OLD LOW WILL CONTINUE TO WEAKEN AND WILL DRIFT NORTHWEST.
ALONG THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WELL TO THE SOUTH IN THE PACIFIC
A WAVE WILL FORM AND TRACK ONSHORE TO THE NORTH OF VANCOUVER
ISLAND ON TUESDAY.

ALSO ON TUESDAY THE NEXT LOW WILL CROSS THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND
MOVE TO ABOUT 50N 145W BY WEDNESDAY MORNING AS IT DEEPENS TO 980
MB. DURING THE DAY ON WEDNESDAY THE OLD LOW WILL MOVE TO KODIAK
ISLAND WHILE THE NEW LOW SWINGS UP TO THE NORTHEAST A BIT. THE
ASSOCIATED FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE PANHANDLE ON THURSDAY WHILE
THE LOW MOVES EAST TO APPROXIMATELY 300 MILES WEST OF THE QUEEN
CHARLOTTE ISLANDS.

ON FRIDAY A STRONG RIDGE ALOFT STARTS BUILDING INTO THE WESTERN
GULF. AS THIS RIDGE BUILDS AND MOVES EAST IT WILL PUSH THE LOW TO
THE SOUTH AND CLEAR OUT THE PRECIPITATION OVER THE PANHANDLE ON
SATURDAY. BY SUNDAY THE AXIS OF THE RIDGE WILL STRETCH ACROSS THE
CENTRAL GULF OVER THE CHUGACH AND WRANGELL MOUNTAINS AND INTO THE
YUKON TERRITORY.

.AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...WIND ADVISORY TODAY AKZ027..028..029.
MARINE...GALE 1B..2A..1A INCLUDING SUMNER..CLARENCE..CROSS SOUND
         SCA REMAINDER OF 1A INNER CHANNELS

LN/JER

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision-Coastal Area

When
April 6, 12:25 PM AST to 1:05 PM AST
Where
Dixon Entrance to Cape Decision-Coastal Area forecast zone
Measured
59 kt (68 mph) measured gust
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 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2003

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: 5347285.