High Wind in Alaska, February 17 to 18, 2005

Name: High Wind in Alaska, February 17 to 18, 2005
Start: 2005-02-17T15:30
End: 2005-02-18T03:30
Location: Alaska

February 17 to 18, 2005 · NWS AFC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

An intense storm moved into the Eastern Aleutians Thursday night and Friday, February 17th and 18th. Strong east and southeast wind gusted to 75 mph on the Bristol Bay coast at Cape Newenham and to 82 mph in Dutch Harbor as the low approached the region Thursday night and Friday.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

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 Feb 17, 5:00 AM AST, 10 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 17, 5:00 AM AST, 10 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 AM AST THU FEB 17 2005

.DISCUSSION...
...HEMISPHERIC...
5 WAVE PATTERN WITH ANCHOR LOW WEST OF GREENLAND. ONE WAVE AXIS IS
CURRENTLY OVER THE WESTERN AOR WITH A RIDGE OVER THE EASTERN AOR.

...AT THE SURFACE...
GUSTY WINDS CONTINUE ALONG WESTERN CAPES IN THE BRISTOL BAY ZONE.
OUTSIDE OF THE BETHEL AREA AND CORDOVA THE RADAR RETURNS HAVE BEEN
RELATIVELY LIGHT WITH MOST LOCATIONS GOING DRY AFTER MIDNIGHT.

MAIN SURFACE LOW IS OUT WEST HALFWAY BETWEEN SAINT PAUL AND ADAK AND
CONTINUES TO WEAKEN. LATEST SATELLITE LOOPS DO NOT HINT AT ANY
STRENGTHENING WITH THIS SYSTEM. SOUTH OF THE GULF AN INTERESTING
FEATURE CONTINUES TO INTENSIFY. BOTH IR AND WV SHOW GOOD FEED OF DRY
AIR WRAPPING AROUND THE LOW.

...FOR THE FORECAST...
LOW CURRENTLY SOUTH OF THE GULF IS NOT PICKED UP BY ANY OF THE
MODELS. CURRENT PROJECT PATH BRINGS IT TO YAKUTAT SO ONLY LIMITED
EFFECTS WILL IMPACT THE AOR FORECAST. ALL OF THE MODELS ARE IN
AGREEMENT OVER THE EAST BY BUILDING THE RIDGE FURTHER INLAND AND THE
TO THE WEST.

OVER THE WEST THE FORECAST BECOMES MORE CHALLENGING AS THERE IS
DISAGREEMENT WITH A DEVELOPING LOW CURRENTLY NEAR 55N. COMPARING THE
IR AND WV TO THE MODELS SHOWS THAT THE SLOWER SPEED OF THE MESOETA IS
TRACKING THE LOW BETTER. 925 MB WINDS REMAIN VERY HIGH OVER THE
SOUTHWESTERN AREAS ESPECIALLY OVER THE CAPES. ONE LARGE POCKET OF
GREATER THAN 55 KTS STAYS IN PLACE DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON AND
EVENING HOURS SO AN ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED FOR IT.

...FURTHER OUT...
ANOTHER LOW MOVES IN FROM THE FAR WEST AND HEADS TOWARD THE EASTERN
ALEUTIANS BY SATURDAY EVENING. OVER THE EAST, GENERALLY QUIET WEATHER
CAN BE EXPECTED.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...STORMS 3C
         GALES 3A 3B 5A 5B 6A 6B 12A 12A1 12B 14 15
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 14
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

BELL FEB 05

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Eastern Aleutians

When: February 17, 3:30 PM AST to 11:30 PM AST
Where: Eastern Aleutians forecast zone
Measured: 71 kt (82 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Bristol Bay

When: February 18, 2:55 AM AST to 3:30 AM AST
Where: Bristol Bay forecast zone
Measured: 65 kt (75 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 2005 Every state in 2005 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, February 2005

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: 5434070, 5434069.