Alaska, 2007

High Wind in Alaska, March 5, 2007

March 5, 2007 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A strong pressure gradient along with deep cold air and supporting upper level wind produced high wind in the Palmer Wasilla area.

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 strong pressure gradient along with deep cold air and supporting upper level wind produced high wind in the Palmer Wasilla area.

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 Mar 5, 12:00 AM AKST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 12:00 AM AKST, 5 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 AM AST MON MAR 5 2007

.DISCUSSION...WINDY TIMES TO CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTHERN ALASKA. AS AN
UPPER LEVEL LOW DRIFTS SOUTH INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA...COLD AIR WILL
FUNNEL SOUTHWARD. A SFC LOW CURRENTLY IN THE CENTRAL PACIFIC WILL BE
DRAWN NORTH OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS...THEN HANG OUT IN THE GULF
AS STEERING CURRENTS WILL BE RELATIVELY WEAK THANKS TO THE PERSISTENT
RIDGE OVER THE BERING. THIS LOW WILL BRING SNOW TO COASTAL LOCALS FOR
THE FIRST TIME IN NEARLY TWO WEEKS STARTING TUESDAY. THERE IS EVEN
THE CHANCE THAT ANCHORAGE COULD SEE SOME SNOW AS THE LOW TRACKS
TOWARD WESTERN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND LATE WED AND THU. THE EXTENT OF
DOWNSLOPING FOR MANY AREAS IS STILL IN QUESTION SO WE WILL REFRAIN
FROM GOING FOR MORE THAN A CHANCE OF SNOW AT THIS POINT.

FOR THE REST OF TODAY...WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG...WITH GUSTS
EXCEEDING HIGH WIND CRITERIA IN THE MAT VALLEY THANKS TO THE
TIGHTENING GRADIENT DESPITE LITTLE SUPPORT FROM ALOFT. ALTHOUGH WINDS
WILL SLACKEN (MINIMALLY) BEGINNING TUESDAY...GUSTS WILL REMAIN STRONG
AND WHEN COMBINED WITH THE COLD TEMPS...WIND CHILLS OF DANGEROUS
LEVELS WILL PERSIST.

FURTHER WEST...THE HIGH OVER THE BERING WILL RETREAT WESTWARD WITH
TIME. AT THE SAME TIME...THE PRESSURE GRADIENT TIGHTENS AS THE LOW IN
THE GULF APPROACHES. WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST ON THE PACIFIC SIDE OF
THE AKPENN ESPECIALLY WED AND THU. AS FAR AS SENSIBLE WEATHER...A
LITTLE LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE ALONG THE WEST COAST TUE NIGHT/WED AS A
PRONOUNCED SHORTWAVE DROPS SOUTH...OTHERWISE PRETTY BENIGN. A FRONT
TRIES TO APPROACH THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS OVER THE WEEKEND...BUT WITH
THE HIGH STILL HOLDING FIRM...WE ARE NOT TOO KEEN ON MUCH EASTWARD
PROGRESS OF THIS FEATURE.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING 111.
         FLOOD WARNING 141.
MARINE...GALE 150 155 160 165 170 121 130 132 138 140 141.
         HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 150 160 165 120 121 125 129
                              130 132 138 140 141.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

JCA MAR 07

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Matanuska Valley

When
March 5, 5:00 AM AKST to 9:00 PM AKST
Where
Matanuska Valley forecast zone
Measured
72 kt (83 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Official NWS Observations

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

More

Every storm in Alaska in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 2007

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: 10379.