High Wind in Alaska, December 17, 2003

Name: High Wind in Alaska, December 17, 2003
Start: 2003-12-17T07:13
End: 2003-12-17T11:30
Location: Alaska

December 17, 2003 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A storm moved into the western Bering Sea on the 17th deepening to 949 mb. The associated front moved across the western Aleutians the morning of the 17th.

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 AFC wrote it up.

A storm moved into the western Bering Sea on the 17th deepening to 949 mb. The associated front moved across the western Aleutians the morning of the 17th. The strong pressure gradient in advance of this front produced winds that peaked at 84 mph over Shemya.

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 Dec 16, 9:00 PM AST, 10 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 9:00 PM AST, 10 hours 13 minutes before

SOUTH/SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
900 PM AST TUE DEC 16 2003

.DISCUSSION...THE MODELS CONTINUE TO BE IN GOOD AGREEMENT AND
CONSISTENT WITH THE PREVIOUS RUN. I CONTINUE TO PREFER THE ETA MODEL
IN THE GULF OF ALASKA AND THE AVIATION MODEL OVER THE BERING SEA AND
ALEUTIANS.

A 500 MB TROUGH OVER THE BERING SEA WILL MOVE INTO THE KUSKOKWIM
DELTA AND BRISTOL BAY WEDNESDAY MORNING AND MOVE THROUGH SOUTH
CENTRAL ALASKA WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

A 980 MB LOW ABOUT 60 MILES OF MIDDLETON ISLAND WILL MOVE TO NEAR
SEWARD WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND WILL DISSIPATE HOMER WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WILL PERSIST OVER THE CENTRAL GULF COAST AND
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS
OVER THE COPPER RIVER BASIN WILL DIMINISH WEDNESDAY NIGHT. SOME LIGHT
SNOW WILL MOVE INTO THE ANCHORAGE, THE MATANUSKA VALLEY AND THE
SUSITNA VALLEY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS THE UPPER TROUGH MOVES THROUGH THE
AREA.

A 958 MB LOW 175 NAUTICAL MILES SOUTH OF ATTU WILL MOVE TO JUST NORTH
OF ATTU AND DEEPEN TO 946 MB WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. THE LOW PRESSURE
CENTER WILL TURN EAST WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND MOVE TO 50 MILES EAST OF
ADAK AND WEAKEN TO 958 MB THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND TO 60 MILES SOUTH OF
COLD BAY AND WEAKEN TO 972 MB FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

THE FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTH AND EAST INTO THE SOUTHERN BERING
SEA AND THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS WEDNESDAY AND INTO THE KUSKOKWIM DELTA
COAST THURSDAY AND WILL WEAKEN OVER SOUTHWEST INTERIOR FRIDAY.

STROM FORCE WINDS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN ALEUTIANS
WITH THE FRONT TONIGHT AND WILL DIMINISH TO A MAX GALE OVER THE
EASTERN ALEUTIANS AND THE PRIBILOFS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND THE
ALASKA PENINSULA WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

AN AREA OF HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL DEVELOP ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF
THE LOW AND WILL REMAIN MOSTLY SOUTH OF THE CHAIN.

.AFC...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING FOR THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS.
         WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THE PRIBILOFS.
MARINE...STORM...12A..13.
         GALE...12B..5B.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

NM DEC 03

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Western Aleutians

When: December 17, 7:13 AM AST to 11:30 AM AST
Where: Western Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 73 kt (84 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

Every storm in Alaska in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, December 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: 5336614.