A well developed low pressure system moved into the Gulf of Alaska and pushed against the high pressure to the Northeast, tightening the pressure gradient over the Southern Coast. The orientation of the pressure gradient was ideal for channeled winds through the Portage Valley and Turnagain Arm, and as the night progressed the wind speeds increased.
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 AFC wrote it up.
A well developed low pressure system moved into the Gulf of Alaska and pushed against the high pressure to the Northeast, tightening the pressure gradient over the Southern Coast. The orientation of the pressure gradient was ideal for channeled winds through the Portage Valley and Turnagain Arm, and as the night progressed the wind speeds increased. At 8:20 P.M. the winds were gusting to 72 mph and continued to do so, off and on through the morning. In the morning the wind speeds reached their peak at 85 MPH, just after 5:00 A.M. and then tapered off through the mid-morning.
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 May 11, 8:00 AM AKST, 12 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA 200 PM ADT SUN MAY 11 2008 .MODEL DISCUSSION...MODELS MSLP FIELDS WERE IN GOOD AGREEMENT... THOUGH MODELS SEEM TO BE MISSING THE COMPLEXITY OF LOW CENTERS SOUTH OF THE AK PEN THIS MORNING. MODELS ARE TENDING TO GO INITIALLY WITH A CONSOLIDATED CENTER...WHERE THE SATELLITE AND OBSERVATIONS CLEARLY SHOW A TRIPLE POINT SOUTH OF SAND POINT WITH A PARENT CENTER TO SW. TRIPLE POINT SHOULD ROTATE AROUND PARENT CENTER TO SW. WILL HAVE TO MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS WITHIN THE INITIAL PERIODS OF FORECAST...BUT MODELS TEND TO CATCH UP BY 24 HOURS. SO WILL BE LEANING WITH THE 12Z GFS WITH SOME ADJUSTMENTS. .UPPER LEVELS... LOW CENTER SOUTH OF THE AK PEN BECOMES STACKED WITH SURFACE CENTER AND MOVES NORTH OF THE AK PEN INTO BRISTOL BAY MON. THIS CENTER THEN MOVES WEST AND WEAKENS. SECONDARY LOW MOVING FROM KAMCHATKA COMES IN PHASE WITH TROUGH ROTATING SOUTH OUT OF THE BERING SEA. THE OVERALL TROUGH DIGS SOUTH TO ALONG 170W EARLY TUESDAY WITH A INTENSE LOW MOVING TO SOUTH OF KODIAK WED AFTERNOON. THIS SETS UP A STRONG LONG FETCH SOUTHERLY JET OVER THE EASTERN GULF WED WHICH WILL TEND TO HOLD INTO THU. .SURFACE FORECAST... SHORT TERM SYNOPTIC PATTERN IS FOR LOW COMPLEX SOUTH OF THE AK PEN TO MOVE INTO BRISTOL BAY MON THEN SHIFT WEST AND WEAKEN. ASSOCIATED OCCLUDED FRONT OVER SOUTHERN BRISTOL BAY AND THE SW GULF OF ALASKA WILL MOVE NORTH AND EAST. BY MONDAY AFTERNOON...FRONTAL TROUGH SHOULD EXTEND FROM THE EASTERN BERING SEA...ACROSS SW ALASKA...TO ALONG THE NORTH GULF COAST. THE FRONT OVER THE THE EASTERN BERING SEA AND SW ALASKA CONTINUES NORTH AND WEST AND WEAKENS. THE FRONT OVER THE NORTH GULF WILL LIKELY STALL AND WEAKEN WITH STRONG RIDGE CONTINUING ALONG THE COAST. THERMAL TROUGH OVER THE INTERIOR WILL HANG AROUND FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. .EAST...EXPECT STRONG WINDS TO CONTINUE OVER MUCH OF THE GULF WITH STORMS EXCEPTED OVER THE NORTH GULF WATERS THIS EVENING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING AHEAD OF APPROACHING FRONTAL TROUGH. WINDS LIKELY TO DIMINISH AS FRONT STALLS AND FLOW SHIFTS MORE TO THE SOUTH. GAP WINDS OVER SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY AS STRONG RIDGE CONTINUES ALONG THE COAST AND LOW CENTER MOVES INTO BRISTOL BAY. WINDS LIKELY TO DIMINISH SIGNIFICANTLY MON NIGHT AS BRISTOL BAY CENTER SHIFTS WEST AND WEAKENS. THERMAL TROUGH OVER THE INTERIOR COMBINED WITH STRONG RIDGING ALONG THE NORTH GULF ARE PRODUCING STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS ALONG THE COPPER RIVER. EXPECT THE WINDS WILL DIMINISH OVERNIGHT AS THE THERMAL TROUGH WEAKENS...THEN INCREASE AGAIN AS THE TROUGH RE-INTENSIFIES MON AFTERNOON. SIGNIFICANT MOISTURE INTRUSION INTO INTERIOR SOUTHCENTRAL LIKELY TO BE SLOW WITH STRONG SE DOWNSLOPE WINDS. FLOW ALOFT SHIFTS TO THE SOUTH LATE MON NIGHT/TUE MORNING...SO SHOULD SEE DOWNSLOPE HOLE FILL IN AS MOISTURE PUSHES NORTH. UNTIL THEN...EXPECT MAJORITY OF RAIN TO FALL ALONG THE COAST AND SOUTHEAST EXPOSURES. COPPER RIVER IS LIKELY TO STAY ON THE DRY SIDE THROUGH MON. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER MUCH OF THE EAST TUE NIGHT/WED. INTENSE LOW CENTER...POSSIBLY REMNANTS OF A WESTERN PACIFIC TYPHOON...MOVES TO TO NEAR KODIAK WED NIGHT. SO LOOK FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF WIND AND A MOISTURE SURGE. .WEST... SW ALASKA...MAIN CONCERN IS GAP WINDS ALONG THE ALEUTIAN/ALASKA RANGE. EXPECT STRONG WIND HEADLINES FOR ZONE 161 TO CONTINUE INTO MON. WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH MON NIGHT AS LOW CENTER IN BRISTOL BAY WEAKENS AND MOVES WEST. RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH APPROACHING FRONTAL TROUGH WILL MAINLY IMPACT THE DELTA AND BRISTOL BAY AS STRONG SE DOWNSLOPE KEEPS THE KUSKOKWIM VALLEY ON THE DRY SIDE. WILL SEE A GENERAL MOISTURE PUSH NORTH MON NIGHT AND TUE AS FLOW ALOFT SHIFTS SOUTH. ELSEWHERE...EXPECT STRONG WINDS TO WEST OF LOW CENTER OVER THE ALEUTIANS AND EASTERN BERING SEA THROUGH TONIGHT. WINDS SHOULD DIMINISH AS LOW CENTER MOVES NORTH AND WEST MON/TUE. EXPECT UNSETTLED WEATHER TO CONTINUE OVER THE REGION THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK AS UPPER TROUGH HOLDS OVER THE BERING SEA. .FIRE WEATHER... ZONE 111...RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE INTO THIS EVENING. RH VALUES SHOULD RECOVER LATER TONIGHT. GUSTY SE WINDS LIKELY AGAIN MON...HOWEVER EXPECT MOISTURE WILL INCREASE TO ABOVE CRITICAL LEVELS. ZONE 141...RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL DIMINISH LATER THIS EVENING AS WINDS DIMINISH WITH NOCTURNAL WEAKENING OF INTERIOR TROUGH AND RH VALUES RECOVER. RED FLAG CONDITIONS LIKELY AGAIN MON AFTERNOON AS INTERIOR TROUGH INTENSIFIES AND RH VALUES DROP. .AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY PUBLIC...NONE. MARINE...STRONG 120. GALES 125 130 132 138 140 141 150 155 160 AND 170. FIRE WEATHER...RED FLAG WARNINGS ZONES 111 AND 141. RMC MAY 08
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The swing arm at the entrance to the Whittier tunnel was broken off by the high wind in Bear Valley at the tunnel staging area.
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, May 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: 87018.