High Wind in Alaska, December 31, 2003

Name: High Wind in Alaska, December 31, 2003
Start: 2003-12-31T20:58
End: 2003-12-31T23:05
Location: Alaska

December 31, 2003 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A strong occlusion moved north over the Bering Sea and then stalled and weakened. The Savoonga AWOS reported wind gusts to 53 knots (61 mph) from the southeast.

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.

A strong occlusion moved north over the Bering Sea and then stalled and weakened. The Savoonga AWOS reported wind gusts to 53 knots (61 mph) from the southeast.

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 Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 31, 6:00 AM AST, 14 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 31, 6:00 AM AST, 14 hours 58 minutes before

NORTH ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
600 AM AST WED DEC 31 2003

.DISCUSSION...ALL MODEL OUTPUT CONTINUES TO INDICATE THAT VERY STRONG
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT AND AT THE SURFACE WILL BUILD OVER NORTHERN
ALASKA OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE LOW CENTER THAT HAS BROUGHT THE
SOUTHEAST INTERIOR SNOW ON TUE IS NOW MOVING SE-WARD ACROSS THE
EASTERN GULF OF ALASKA, AWAY FROM THE STATE. SKIES SHOULD BEGIN TO
CLEAR TODAY OVER MOST OF NORTHERN ALASKA AS DRIER AIR WORKS ITS WAY
SE-WARD ACROSS THE INTERIOR AND HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING BUILDS N-WARD
OVER WESTERN ALASKA. THE ONLY AREA THAT WILL LIKELY HANG ON TO THE
MOSTLY CLOUDY SKIES IS THE IMMEDIATE WEST COAST DUE TO ONSHORE FLOW
AND ALONG THE ALASKA RANGE IN UPSLOPE FLOW.

A STRONG LOW CENTER IS EXPECTED TO MOVE N-WARD ACROSS FAR EASTERN
RUSSIA TODAY AND TONIGHT, THEN MOVE N-WARD OVER THE HIGH ARCTIC ON
THU. STRONG S-LY WINDS AHEAD OF THIS LOW CENTER ARE EXPECTED TO
SPREAD N-WARD ACROSS THE BERING AND CHUKCHI SEAS AND ALONG OUR WEST
COAST TODAY THROUGH THU. HOWEVER, THIS LOW CENTER IS EXPECTED TO
REMAIN FAR ENOUGH TO OUR WEST TO KEEP BLIZZARD CONDITIONS FROM
DEVELOPING ANYWHERE EXCEPT POSSIBLY NEAR CAPE LISBURNE AND TIN CITY.
RATHER WARM TEMPS IN MANY AREAS OVER SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND AND ALONG
OUR WEST COAST SHOULD ALSO KEEP VISIBILITIES FROM GETTING TOO LOW AS
WELL. THE WINDS ALONG THE WEST COAST SHOULD DIMINISH SOMEWHAT ON FRI
AS THE PRESSURE GRADIENT RELAXES. MORE STRONG WINDS ARE LIKELY TO
DEVELOP ALONG THE WEST COAST ON SAT AND ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST ON SUN
AND MON AS ANOTHER LOW CENTER MOVES N-WARD THEN NE-WARD AROUND A
BROAD AREA OF HIGH PRESSURE THAT WILL CONTINUE TO BUILD OVER MUCH OF
MAINLAND ALASKA. THIS HIGH CENTER SHOULD KEEP CLEAR TO PARTLY CLOUDY
SKIES OVER MOST OF THE INTERIOR INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. DUE TO VERY
HIGH 500 MB HEIGHTS (GREATER THEN 570 MB), TEMPS ALOFT WILL WARM.
HOWEVER, WITH VERY STRONG INVERSIONS DEVELOPING IN MANY INTERIOR
VALLEYS, COLD TEMPS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THESE SPOTS.

.AFG...WATCH/WARNING/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...HI WIND WATCH 201 TONIGHT. BLOWING SNOW ADVY TONIGHT AND NEW
YEARS DAY 207 AND 209. BLOWING SNOW ADVY TODAY AND TONIGHT 213.
MARINE...GALE 14 AND 9B TODAY/TONIGHT. GALE 10B TONIGHT. BRSK
9A...10A...11A TONIGHT.

MP DEC 03

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait

When: December 31, 8:58 PM AST to 11:05 PM AST
Where: St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
Measured: 53 kt (61 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: 5329180.