An intense front moved through the western Aleutians the evening of February 7th. Hurricane force wind gusts were associated with this front as it moved through the region.
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.
An intense front moved through the western Aleutians the evening of February 7th. Hurricane force wind gusts were associated with this front as it moved through the region.
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 Feb 7, 5:00 AM AKST, 10 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA
500 AM AKST SAT FEB 7 2009
.ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS...
AT THE SURFACE...A 987 MB LOW IS LOCATED IN THE EASTERN GULF OF
ALASKA. A 994 MB LOW IS WEAKENING OVER THE KUSKOKWIM DELTA...WITH A
COLD FRONT EXTENDING SOUTHWARD OVER BRISTOL BAY AND THE ALASKA
PENINSULA. A FRONT LOCATED WELL AHEAD OF A NORTH PACIFIC LOW IS
APPROACHING THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS.
IN THE UPPER LEVELS...A TROUGH IS OVER THE THE EASTERN BERING SEA AND
WESTERN MAINLAND. A RIDGE IS OVER THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS AND BERING
SEA. ELSEWHERE...SOUTHWEST FLOW IS PRESENT OVER THE EASTERN MAINLAND
AND GULF OF ALASKA.
.MODEL DISCUSSION...
MODELS ARE IN BETTER AGREEMENT TONIGHT THAN LAST NIGHT...WITH GENERAL
AGREEMENT THROUGH 12Z MONDAY. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES ARISE BY 00Z
TUESDAY. MAIN DISAGREEMENTS PERTAIN TO THE EVOLUTION OF THE NORTH
PACIFIC LOW APPROACHING THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS EARLY IN THE WEEK.
MODELS ARE ALSO HAVING PROBLEMS DISCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT AND
SUBSEQUENT EVOLUTION OF A TRIPLE POINT LOW IN THE GULF ON MONDAY.
FORECASTS THROUGH MONDAY WERE CONSTRUCTED USING A GFS/NAM BLEND FOR
CONSISTENCY.
.SHORT TERM FORECAST...
.SOUTHCENTRAL...
MAIN FORECAST PROBLEM ACROSS SOUTHCENTRAL IN THE SHORT TERM IS FOG
FORMATION ALONG COOK INLET AND THE MATANUSKA VALLEY. FOG SHOULD
GENERALLY BE ON THE DECREASE AS THE DAY WEARS ON...WITH REFORMATION
TONIGHT IN THE SAME AREAS. KODIAK ISLAND WILL SEE AN INCREASED THREAT
OF SNOW SHOWERS TODAY AS THE UPPER TROUGH SWINGS THROUGH...WITH LIGHT
ACCUMULATIONS AND IMPROVING CONDITIONS BY TONIGHT. OTHERWISE EXPECT
TRANQUIL CONDITIONS ACROSS THE REGION WITH MOSTLY TO PARTLY CLOUDY
SKIES...AND LIGHT WINDS THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEKEND.
.SOUTHWEST...
SNOW SHOWERS AND GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH
TONIGHT AS THE LOW OVER THE KUSKOKWIM VALLEY DISSIPATES. THE UPPER
LEVEL TROUGH IS ALSO TRANSLATING EASTWARD...ACTING TO SYNOPTICALLY
ENHANCE SNOWFALL. SNOW ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST MAINLAND WILL BE HEAVIEST
ACROSS THE ALASKA PENINSULA...WHERE CONDITIONS WILL BEGIN IMPROVING
BY TONIGHT AFTER THE TROUGH PASSES. SUNDAY WILL SEE A DWINDLING
CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS...WITH LIGHTER WINDS AND CLEARING SKIES.
.BERING SEA AND ALEUTIANS...
THE AFOREMENTIONED FRONT WILL SPREAD RAIN AND SNOW THROUGH THE
WESTERN ALEUTIANS TODAY...ALONG WITH STRONG EASTERLY WINDS. THE FRONT
WILL PROGRESS ACROSS THE ALEUTIANS...AFFECTING THE CENTRAL ISLANDS
TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY AND THE EASTERN ISLANDS SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY.
PRECIPITATION WILL REMAIN ALL SNOW IN THE PRIBILOFS...BUT WILL NOT BE
AS WIDESPREAD AS OVER THE ALEUTIANS.
.LONG TERM FORECAST...
THE TRIPLE POINT LOW DEVELOPING IN THE GULF ON MONDAY WILL DIVE
SOUTHEASTWARD TOWARD THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. A QUASI STATIONARY LOW
WILL DEVELOP OVER THE NORTHERN GULF WEDNESDAY...AND PERSIST THROUGH
THURSDAY. ANOTHER NORTH PACIFIC LOW WILL IMPACT THE ALEUTIANS AND
BERING SEA MID TO LATE WEEK.
.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...HIGH WIND WARNING 191
MARINE...STORM 175 176
GALE 130 132 150 155 160 165 170 172
HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY 121 129 150 155 165 179
FIRE WEATHER...NONE
NRH FEB 091 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Ship reports of sustained 60 KT were observed in the region. Estimate gusts over 70 KT with this front based upon the ship observations.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, February 2009
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: 144791.