Ahead of a strong occluded front a period of very strong wind was observed at Wales along the Bering Strait coast. Sustained winds of 50 to 60 mph were observed with frequent gusts to 70 mph and a peak wind gust of 68 kts (78 mph).
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.
The episode as NWS AFG wrote it up.
Ahead of a strong occluded front a period of very strong wind was observed at Wales along the Bering Strait coast. Sustained winds of 50 to 60 mph were observed with frequent gusts to 70 mph and a peak wind gust of 68 kts (78 mph).
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 Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 11, 1:56 PM AKST, 12 hours 1 minute earlier.
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 156 PM AKST THU DEC 11 2008 .DISCUSSION...12Z MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT ON KEY FEATURES FOR SHORT/MID TERM. SHORT WAVE UPPER TROUGH CURRENTLY BRINGING SCATTERED -SHSN OVER WRN INTERIOR WILL RAPIDLY DISSOLVE TONIGHT AS IT MOVES E INTO UPPER RIDGING ALONG ALCAN BORDER. LARGE OCCLUDED FRONTAL SYSTEM STEMMING FROM ABOUT 974 MB LOW IN GULF OF ANADYR WILL MOVE ACROSS BERING SEA TONIGHT...MOVING INLAND OVER W COAST FRIDAY. IT TOO WILL RAPIDLY WEAKEN...AS IT MOVES INTO ANOTHER UPSTREAM RIDGE OVER WRN/CENTRAL INTERIOR FRI NIGHT. ANOTHER LOW/FRONT WILL MOVE E ACROSS BERING SEA TO W COAST LATE SUN. AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM THOUGH...VERY STRONG UPPER RIDGING FORECAST TO AMPLIFY N OVER INTERIOR SUN/MON. W COAST: FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH TO DELIVER 2 TO 4 INCHES SNOW TO ZONES 213...211...AND 214 BY TOMORROW AFTERNOON. WINDS WILL BE STRONG ENOUGH FOR AT LEAST A FEW HOURS WITH THE FRONT FOR BLOWING SNOW...SO WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES WERE ISSUED FOR THOSE ZONES. ZONE 207 MAY GET CLOSE TO THESE CONDITIONS AFTER 12Z FRIDAY. MILD AIR AHEAD OF NEXT SYSTEM SUN MAY ALLOW MIXED PRECIP TO DEVELOP THEN ZONES 214/215. N SLOPE: BERING FRONT WILL MOVE N AND E OVER WRN ARCTIC COAST LATE FRI. SOME -SN AND BLSN LIKELY THERE...BUT SUB-ADVISORY. MAINLY JUST CLOUDS AND FLURRIES FURTHER E INTO SAT. WITH UPPER RIDGING AMPLIFYING N LATE SAT/SUN INTO MON...WARMING TEMPS. LIKELY UNDER LIGHT SRLY LOW-MID LEVEL FLOW. INTERIOR: FIRST SHORT-WAVE OVER WRN INTERIOR WILL DISSOLVE TONIGHT...SO MAINLY CLEAR SKIES INTO SAT. WHICH WILL ALLOW VALLEY TEMPS. TO PLUMMET AND FORM STRONG INVERSIONS. SOME CLOUDS AND A FEW FLURRIES MAY OCCUR ZONES 219/221 WITH NEXT SHORT-WAVE EARLY SAT...WHICH MAY MODERATE TEMPS. SLIGHTLY...BUT NOTHING FURTHER E. CLEAR SKIES AND VERY WARM AIR ALOFT MOVING IN WITH STRONG UPPER RIDGING LATE SAT THROUGH MON WILL RE-STRENGTHEN VALLEY INVERSIONS. TEMPERATURES IN HIGHER TERRAIN MAY PUSH 30F SUN/MON. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ211-AKZ213-AKZ214. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ210. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225. && MAR DEC 08
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Ahead of a strong occluded front a period of very strong wind was observed at Wales along the Bering Strait coast. Sustained winds of 50 to 60 mph were observed with frequent gusts to 70 mph and a peak wind gust of 68 kts (78 mph).
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2008
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: 137402.