Alaska, 2007

High Wind in Alaska, September 17 to 18, 2007

September 17 to 18, 2007 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An intense storm moved into the western Aleutians and Bering Sea September 17th and 18th. As the storm crossed the Aleutians, mariners reported wind gusts to 90 mph.

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.

An intense storm moved into the western Aleutians and Bering Sea September 17th and 18th. As the storm crossed the Aleutians, mariners reported wind gusts to 90 mph.

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 Sep 17, 8:00 AM AKST, 13 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 17, 8:00 AM AKST, 13 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA
200 PM ADT MON SEP 17 2007

.MODEL DISCUSSION...A VERY INTENSE WIDE-REACHING LOW IN THE SW BERING
SEA WILL BE THE MAIN PLAYER FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. THE GFS
INITIALIZED WELL THIS MORNING WITH THE LOW AND HAS BEEN VERY
CONSISTENT WITH ITS INTENSITY AND TRACK.

.SHORT TERM FORECAST...PLENTY OF GALE FORCE WINDS AND RAIN ACROSS THE
ALEUTIANS AND BERING AS THE LOW SLOWLY TRACKS NE TOWARD ST. MATTHEW
ISLAND BY WED MORNING. THE HIGH WIND WARNING FOR ZONE 187 STILL LOOKS
REACHABLE AS A JET STREAK ROUNDS THE BASE OF THE TROUGH AS THE LOW
CROSSES THE CHAIN WEST OF ADAK. WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE
ACROSS THE PRIBILOFS AND AK PENINSULA OVERNIGHT AS THE OCCLUDED FRONT
PASSES BY. WARNING LEVELS WINDS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED BUT GUSTS TO NEAR
60 MPH THROUGH N-S ORIENTED GAPS IS NOT OUT OF THE QUESTION.

BROAD SOUTHWEST FLOW BEHIND THE FRONT WILL ALLOW WAVES TO STACK UP
LEADING TO A POTENTIAL BEACH EROSION ISSUE ALONG THE BRISTOL BAY AND
KUSKOKWIM DELTA COASTS. A HIGH SURF ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED FOR WED
AS STORM SURGE MODELS INDICATE TIDES OF 2 FT OR MORE ABOVE NORMAL.

GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS AND PLENTY OF SHOWERS WILL BE THE RULE BEHIND
THE LOW FOR THE SECOND HALF OF THE WEEK OVER THE BERING AND ALEUTIANS
WHILE SOUTHWEST ALASKA WILL BASK IN PLENTY OF RAIN.

FURTHER EAST...THE FRONT FROM THE LOW IN THE BERING WILL APPROACH
KODIAK ISLAND LATER TONIGHT REACHING THE SOUTHCENTRAL COAST LATE TUE.
PLENTY OF WIND CAN BE EXPECTED IN ADVANCE OF THE FRONT...ESPECIALLY
THROUGH E-W GAPS. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE ANTICIPATED TUE EVENING AS
BOTH THE GFS AND NAM HINT AT A WAVE DEVELOPING ALONG THE FRONT
TIGHTENING THE GRADIENT EVEN FURTHER. THIS COUPLED WITH A JET STREAK
AND SHORTWAVE TROUGH PASSING BY SHOULD RESULT IN WINDS THROUGH
PORTAGE VALLEY AND TURNAGAIN ARM UP TO 65 MPH. WARNING LEVEL WINDS
ARE NOT ANTICIPATED HOWEVER DUE TO THE PARENT LOW BEING SO FAR WEST.
THE STRONG WINDS SHOULD DECREASE FAIRLY RAPIDLY ON WED AS THE FLOW
TURNS MORE WSW.

RAIN COULD BE HEAVY ALONG THE FRONT...ESPECIALLY FOR COASTAL
LOCATIONS BUT SHOULD BE RELATIVELY SHORT-LIVED AS THE STEERING FLOW
JUST DOESNT SLOW DOWN. STEADY PRECIP WILL LINGER LONGEST IN EASTERN
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND AND THE COPPER RIVER BASIN AS A WEAK LOW WILL
REMAIN ENTRENCHED NEAR YAKUTAT ENHANCING UPSLOPE FLOW. A SHOWERY
REGIME WILL REMAIN FIRMLY IN PLACE ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF
SOUTHCENTRAL THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK.

.LONG TERM FORECAST...THE PARADE OF LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS MOVING
ACROSS THE BERING SEA WILL CONTINUE WITH FRONTS OCCASIONALLY BRUSHING
SOUTHCENTRAL.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING 187.
MARINE...GALE 120 155 160 165 180 170 171 185 179 175 176.
         STORM 175 172.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

JCA

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 17, 5:34 PM AKST, 3 hours 26 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1134 PM ADT MON SEP 17 2007

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1010 PM     WATER SPOUT      44 ENE AMCHITKA         51.90N 178.00W
09/17/2007                                      AK   SHIP

            SEVERAL WATERSPOUTS WERE SEEN OFF THE NORTHWEST SHORE OF
            KANAGA ISLAND. REPORT CAME FROM THE TUG SIDNEY FOSS.
            WINDS AT THE TIME WERE SE 45 GUSTING TO 90 MPH IN
            WILLIWAWS. REPORT RELAYED VIA WSO KODIAK.

&&

DGV

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Central Aleutians

When
September 17, 9:00 PM AKST to September 18, 5:00 AM AKST
Where
Central Aleutians forecast zone
Measured
78 kt (90 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mariner

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, September 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: 49708.