High Wind, Upper Kuskokwim Valley
- When
- December 5, 7:50 AM AKST to 5:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Upper Kuskokwim Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 68 kt (78 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
High Wind in Alaska, December 5, 2009
A strong Chinook produced a period of high winds in and near the Alaska Range. In the Upper Kuskokwim Valley the wind frequently gusted over 70 mph at Farewell lake, with peak wind gusts of 78 mph during the afternoon and early evening of the 5th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 AFG wrote it up.
A strong Chinook produced a period of high winds in and near the Alaska Range. In the Upper Kuskokwim Valley the wind frequently gusted over 70 mph at Farewell lake, with peak wind gusts of 78 mph during the afternoon and early evening of the 5th. In the Denali Weather zone, high winds occurred at the Antler Creek Dot site at MP 244 along the Parks Highway where a peak wind gust of 71 mph was observed at noon.
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 Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 5, 5:00 AM AKST, 2 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 5:00 AM AKST, 2 hours 50 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 500 AM AKST SAT DEC 5 2009 .DISCUSSION... ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN FOR NORTHERN ALASKA NEXT SEVERAL DAYS AS MASSIVE RIDGE ALOFT IS LOCKED IN OVER THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF ALASKA INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. THIS WILL PRODUCE STORMY WEATHER OVER WESTERN ALASKA THRU THE WEEKEND...AND EVENTUALLY QUITE MILD TEMPS MOST AREAS EXCEPT PROBABLY THE EASTERN INTERIOR AND EASTERN BROOKS RANGE. CURRENT BERING SEA STORM APPEARS TO BE MUCH FARTHER NORTH THAN ANY OF THE MODELS FORECAST. THE FRONTAL STRUCTURE WITH THIS STORM IS COMPLETELY FRACTURED. MEANWHILE...1058 MB HIGH HANGING TIGHT OVER THE YT. MOST OF THE GRADIENT IS PACKED UP WEST OF 155W. AS EXPECTED IN THE HIGH ENERGY FLOW WEST OF THE RIDGE...THERE IS CONSIDERABLE MODEL DIFFERENCE IN TIMING AND INTENSITIES OF SHORTWAVES MOVING NORTHWARD AND NO WAY TO CHOOSE BETWEEN AT THIS POINT. WITH ALL THE WARM AIR POURING NORTH...MOST OF THE WINTER WEATHER TYPE WARNINGS HAVE ALREADY COME AND GONE...WITH WINDS BEING THE MAIN PROBLEM. NORTH SLOPE...PRECIP WILL BE HARD PRESSED TO GET EAST OF BARROW AS RIDGE AND DOWNSLOPE TAKE OVER. TEMPS WILL WARM MOST AREAS..THOUGH IT MAY TAKE A COUPLE DAYS ON THE COAST. DOWNSLOPE BROOKS RANGE AREAS WILL BE ABOVE FREEZING SOON. FOR THE WEST COAST...WINTER WEATHER WINDING DOWN TODAY BUT REMAINING LOCALLY WINDY. NEXT TROUGH ALOFT FOR SAT NIGHT/SUN WILL BE WORKING WITH VERY WARM AIR AND RAIN A REAL THREAT SEWARD PEN SOUTH. INTERIOR...HIGH AND DRY WITH VERY WARM..POSSIBLY NEAR RECORD WARM AIRMASS INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. HOWEVER...ESPECIALLY EAST OF 145W...VALLEY INVERSIONS WILL LIKELY HOLD...EAST OF 155W AT LEAST LOCALLY COLD AIR WILL REMAIN TRAPPED IN SOME VALLEYS. LITTLE OR NO CHANCE OF SNOW ANYTIME SOON. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ215-AKZ227. BLIZZARD WARNING FOR AKZ213. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ209. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ210. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ235- PKZ240-PKZ245. && RT DEC 09
Event by event
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Denali
- When
- December 5, 11:30 AM AKST to 12:30 PM AKST
- Where
- Denali forecast zone
- Measured
- 62 kt (71 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
- Dense Fog in California, December 5, 2009
- Winter Weather in Kentucky, December 5, 2009
- Extreme Cold in Oregon, December 5 to 11, 2009
- Winter Weather in Tennessee, December 5, 2009
- Winter Weather in Tennessee, December 5, 2009
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Kentucky, December 5, 2009
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Virginia, December 5, 2009
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Maryland, December 5, 2009
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in West Virginia, December 5, 2009
- Winter Weather in Pennsylvania, December 5, 2009
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in New Jersey, December 5, 2009
- Extreme Cold in California, December 5 to 11, 2009
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2009
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: 198538, 198540.