Alaska, 2005

Flooding and High Wind in Alaska, October 17, 2005

October 17, 2005 · NWS AFC · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

An intense Bering Sea storm produced west wind gusting to 90 mph across the Pribilof Islands late Sunday night into the early morning hours Monday. The storm bottomed out at 962 MB as it moved northeast into the northern Bering Sea.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$75,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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.

An intense Bering Sea storm produced west wind gusting to 90 mph across the Pribilof Islands late Sunday night into the early morning hours Monday. The storm bottomed out at 962 MB as it moved northeast into the northern Bering Sea. The combination of the strong wind and long fetch produced a surge that coincided with high tides. Flooding occurred in the Bristol Bay area north to Kipnuk along the Kuskokwim Delta. In advance of the front, the strong pressure gradient produced the typically high wind along Turnagain Arm with peak gusts reaching 82 mph on the afternoon of the 17th.

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 Oct 16, 4:00 PM AST, 8 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 16, 4:00 PM AST, 8 hours 25 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 PM ADT SUN OCT 16 2005

.DISCUSSION...
THE BIG STORY TODAY IS AN INTENSE STORM DEVELOPING IN THE WESTERN
BERING SEA WHICH IS HEADED TOWARD NUNIVAK ISLAND ON THE SOUTHWEST
COAST. FIRST - THE WINDS AROUND THIS STORM ARE LIKELY TO PUSH WATER
LEVELS UP TO FLOODING ALONG THE SOUTHWEST COAST DURING TIMES OF HIGH
TIDE MONDAY. NEXT - AS THIS LOW CENTER CROSSES 60N A PRETTY STRONG
TURNAGAIN ARM AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS WIND WILL DEVELOP FOR EAST
ANCHORAGE. THIRD - THIS IS A VERY WET SYSTEM WITH A GOOD SUBTROPICAL
CONNECTION THAT WILL CAUSE A LOT OF RAIN FOR MOST OF OUR TWO HUGE
FORECAST AREAS. THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO THE WESTERN
GULF AND COOK INLET ON MONDAY AFTERNOON AS A STRONG JET PUSHES THIS
SYSTEM QUICKLY ACROSS THE BERING SEA. THE UPPER TROUGH WILL BECOME
NEGATIVELY TILTED AS THE FRONT DRIVES ACROSS THE GULF MONDAY NIGHT.
AFTER THAT THE WHOLE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE STATE WILL BE UNDER A BROAD
AREA OF MODERATE TO STRONG WESTERLIES. LOOK FOR THE JET TO ENHANCE
DEVELOPMENT ON A STRONG LOW WHICH WILL END UP THROUGH BRISTOL BAY WED
NIGHT WHICH HAS THE POTENTIAL FOR A STRONG CHINOOK WIND FOR ANCHORAGE
THEN.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH ZONES 155 AND 161.
MARINE...STORM 160 172 179 180 185.
         GALES 120 130 132 138 150 155 165 170 171 175 176.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

JC OCT 05

Event by event

2 high wind, 2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Pribilof Islands

When
October 17, 12:25 AM AST to 4:30 AM AST
Where
Pribilof Islands forecast zone
Measured
77 kt (89 mph) estimated gust
Property damage
$75,000
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When
October 17, 12:20 PM AST to 4:50 PM AST
Where
Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured
71 kt (82 mph) measured gust
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Flood, Kuskokwim Delta

When
October 17, 2:00 PM AST to 5:00 PM AST
Where
Kuskokwim Delta forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Flood, Bristol Bay

When
October 17, 2:00 PM AST to 5:00 PM AST
Where
Bristol Bay forecast zone
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.
Flood
Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5473887, 5473953, 5473951, 5473952.