High Wind in Alaska, April 1, 2008

Name: High Wind in Alaska, April 1, 2008
Start: 2008-04-01T06:30
End: 2008-04-01T07:00
Location: Alaska

April 1, 2008 · NWS AFC · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A strong front moved to the the Gulf of Alaska coast producing a brief period of strong wind along Turnagain Arm.

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 front moved to the the Gulf of Alaska coast producing a brief period of strong wind along Turnagain Arm.

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 31, 11:00 PM AKST, 7 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 31, 11:00 PM AKST, 7 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 AM ADT TUE APR 1 2008

.MODEL DISCUSSION...
MODELS CONTINUE TO BE IN GOOD AGREEMENT. MORNING FORECASTS ARE BASED
ON THE 00Z GFS TO A LARGE EXTENT.

.ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS...
UPPER TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN BERING SEA WITH A NEARLY
FULL LATITUDE RIDGE ALONG ABOUT 140 DEGREES WEST LONGITUDE...WITH A
SLIGHTLY NEGATIVE TILT. SUBTROPICAL JET IS SPLIT WITH MOST ENERGY
MORNING NORTH ALONG ABOUT 150 DEGREE LONGITUDE. POLAR JET RACING OUT
OF SIBERIA AT AROUND 55 DEGREES NORTH LATITUDE...CONSOLIDATING
SOMEWHAT WITH THE SUBTROPICAL JET OVER ALASKA. AN OPEN WAVE CENTERED
JUST SOUTH OF KODIAK IS MOVING NORTHEAST.

.SHORT TERM FORECAST...
UPPER RIDGE ALONG THE EASTERN BORDER OF ALASKA WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE
EAST OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS JET ENERGY PUSHES INTO IT
(MAINLY FROM THE POLAR JET). INDEED WE ARE IN THE THROES OF A
PATTERN CHANGE...THOUGH SENSIBLE WEATHER WILL BE SLOW TO REACT. THE
WARMER AIR THAT HAS BEEN OVER THE AREA IS SLOWLY MOVING EASTWARD.
RAIN OVER SOUTHWEST ALASKA IS TURNING TO SNOW FROM THE WEST TODAY
AND THIS COLDER AIR ALOFT WILL WORK ITS WAY ACROSS SOUTHWEST ALASKA
AND BY WEDNESDAY ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL. FLOW ALOFT WILL ALSO BECOME
GRADUALLY MORE CYCLONIC THIS WEEK AS THE MEAN TROUGH POSITION SETS
UP ALONG THE ALASKAN WEST COAST.

.LONG TERM FORECAST...
BY THE WEEKEND THE MEAN TROUGH POSITION WILL BE FIRMLY ALONG THE
WEST COAST...WITH CYCLONIC FLOW AND COLDER AIR OVER THE STATE. THE
MODELS START TO GET ERRATIC BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...BUT IT LOOKS LIKE
THE UPPER TROUGH POSITION WILL REMAIN IN PLACE FOR A WHILE.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...NONE.
MARINE...GALE WARNING 120 170 171 172 175 176 179.
FIRE WEATHER...NONE.

LUDWIG APR 08

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: April 1, 6:30 AM AKST to 7:00 AM AKST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured: 63 kt (72 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways

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 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, April 2008

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: 79237.