High Wind in Alaska, November 22, 2003

Name: High Wind in Alaska, November 22, 2003
Start: 2003-11-22T03:15
End: 2003-11-22T18:30
Location: Alaska

November 22, 2003 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A deepening low moved into the western Bering Sea 11/22/03. Strong wind wrapped around the west side of this low resulting in gusts estimated around 80 mph in the data sparse region.

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 deepening low moved into the western Bering Sea 11/22/03. Strong wind wrapped around the west side of this low resulting in gusts estimated around 80 mph in the data sparse region.

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 Nov 21, 9:00 PM AST, 6 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 21, 9:00 PM AST, 6 hours 15 minutes before

SOUTH/SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
900 PM AST FRI NOV 21 2003

.DISCUSSION...COLDER AIR AND SNOW SHOWERS MOVING ONTO SOUTHWEST COAST
THIS EVENING. SATELLITE SHOWS SHOWERS ACROSS MOST OF THE BERING SEA.
RAIN ENDED AT PAHO. EXPECT SNOW SHOWERS TO DEVELOP THERE AS TEMPS
DROP AND UNSTABLE AIRMASS MOVES OVER. SNOW MOVING UP THE INLET. PAEN
LOOKS TO BE CLOSE TO THE BACK EDGE. PANC STARTED SNOWING EARLIER. A
LITTLE SCARE ABOUT AN HOUR AGO HERE WHEN THE TEMPS JUMPED TO MID 30S
AND SNOW CHANGED TO RAIN. RADAR SHOWED THE DOWN SLOPING AREAS
DIMINISHING AS THE WINDS ALOFT AND DOWN TURNAGAIN ARM DIMINISHED. I
FIGURED IT WAS A TONGUE OF WARM AIR COMING OUT OF THE ARM AND JUST
BRUSHING THE AIRPORT AND ALONG THE INLET. REMAINDER OF AREA STAYED
BELOW FREEZING AND ALL SNOW.  THE RAIN ONLY LASTED FOR ABOUT 45 MIN
AND THEN CHANGED BACK TO ALL SNOW. RADAR INDICATES VERY LITTLE LEFT
OF THE DOWN SLOPE REGION AND WEB CAMS AROUND PANC ARE PROVIDING A
NICE PICTURE OF A GOOD SNOW EVENT.

GOING TO CONTINUE WITH THE ETA FOR SOUTHCENTRAL AREA ON COORD. ETA
HOLDS THE LOW CLOSER TO THE NORTH GULF COAST THAN AVN. OUT WEST BOTH
ARE SIMILAR AND ADVERTISING STORM FORCE WINDS IN THE BERING AND ALONG
THE ALEUTIAN CHAIN. STORMS MOVE TO NEAR PASN SAT EVENING AND TO WEST
COAST SUN.

.AFC...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING ZONE 191.
MARINE...GALES 2B 3ABC 5A 12B 15. STORM 13.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

KAC NOV 03

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Western Aleutians

When: November 22, 3:15 AM AST to 6:30 PM AST
Where: Western Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 80 kt (92 mph) estimated 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, November 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: 5372195.