High Wind in Alaska, September 22, 2012

Name: High Wind in Alaska, September 22, 2012
Start: 2012-09-22T07:00
End: 2012-09-22T16:45
Location: Alaska

September 22, 2012 · NWS AFC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

An intense storm moved into the western Gulf of Alaska September 22nd. Tis resulted in a brief period of strong intense gap wind along the Chugach mountains.

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 AFC wrote it up.

An intense storm moved into the western Gulf of Alaska September 22nd. Tis resulted in a brief period of strong intense gap wind along the Chugach mountains. the peak gust associated with this was 86 mph at the upper end of Highland Road. Downed trees caused brief scattered power outages. Around the west side of this storm the typical strong gusty northwest wind blew across the Alaska Peninsula. The peak wind gust at King Cove was 83 mph.

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 Sep 22, 4:20 AM AKST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 22, 4:20 AM AKST, 2 hours 40 minutes before

SOUTHCENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
520 AM AKDT SAT SEP 22 2012

.ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS...
THE AMPLIFIED UPPER LEVEL PATTERN WHICH HAS BEEN IN PLACE OVER THE
REGION FOR SOME TIME IS BEGINNING TO SHIFT THIS MORNING AS THE
LONGWAVE TROUGH OVER THE BERING SEA BECOMES MORE NEGATIVELY TILTED
WITH THE EASTWARD AND NOW NORTHWARD PROGRESSION OF A LARGE VERTICALLY
STACKED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CURRENTLY LOCATED ROUGHLY 500 MILES SOUTH
OF KODIAK ISLAND. THIS HAS RESULTED IN THE MOIST SOUTHERLY FLOW OVER
THE SOUTHERN MAINLAND TAKING ON A MORE SOUTHEASTERLY
ORIENTATION...LEADING TO WIDESPREAD RAIN OVER WESTERN PRINCE WILLIAM
SOUND INTO THE WESTERN SUSITNA VALLEY AND MUCH OF SOUTHWEST ALASKA.
IN ADDITION...GUSTY NORTHERLY WINDS HAVE DEVELOPED OVER THE EASTERN
ALEUTIANS AND AKPEN ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE LOW.

.MODEL DISCUSSION...
MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT IN THE SHORT TERM...BRINGING THE
VERTICALLY STACKED LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM NORTHWARD THROUGH THE WESTERN
GULF OF ALASKA AND WEAKENING IT INTO AN OPEN WAVE AS IT APPROACHES
SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE NAM HAS COME INTO BETTER
AGREEMENT WITH THE GFS AND ECMWF SOLUTIONS REGARDING THE TIMING OF
THIS EVOLUTION.

.SHORT TERM FORECAST...
SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA...
RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AS THE LOW SOUTH OF KODIAK
SLOWLY APPROACHES SOUTHCENTRAL AK. RAIN WILL BE MOST PREVALENT ALONG
THE GULF COAST...PARTICULARLY FOR WESTERN PRINCE WILLIAM
SOUND/EASTERN KENAI PENINSULA...WHERE RAIN COULD BE HEAVY AT TIMES
GIVEN THE VERY MOIST SOUTHEASTERLY UPSLOPE FLOW. THIS SETUP IS ALSO
LIKELY TO BRING ABUNDANT RAINFALL TO WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE SUSITNA
VALLEY. IN ADDITION TO THE WIDESPREAD RAINFALL...STRONG WINDS WILL
PERSIST THROUGH SUNDAY ALONG TURNAGAIN ARM AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS.

SOUTHWEST ALASKA...
RAIN WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS WEEKEND OVER SOUTHWEST ALASKA AS THE
LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM SLOWLY APPROACHES THE SOUTHERN MAINLAND. THE
APPROACH OF THE LOW WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY STRONG WINDS TODAY AND
TONIGHT ALONG THE AKPEN...AS WELL AS COASTAL AREAS OF BRISTOL BAY AND
THE KUSKOKWIM DELTA.

BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS...
STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE EASTERN ALEUTIANS
THROUGH THE DAY TODAY AS THE LOW CONTINUES NORTHWARD INTO THE WESTERN
GULF OF ALASKA. RAIN WILL CONTINUE OVER THE WESTERN ALEUTIANS ON
TODAY AND OVERSPREAD THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN PARTS OF THE CHAIN
TONIGHT AND SUNDAY AS ANOTHER SYSTEM TRAVERSES THE SOUTHERN BERING.

.LONG TERM FORECAST...
A PATTERN CHANGE IS IN STORE FOR SOUTHERN ALASKA NEXT WEEK AS THE
LONGWAVE TROUGH WHICH HAS BEEN DOMINATING THE BERING WILL SHIFT
EASTWARD OVER THE ALASKAN MAINLAND...RESULTING IN COOLER TEMPERATURES
AND LESS PRECIPITATION.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...FLOOD WARNING 111 121 125 131 135 145
         FLOOD ADVISORY 101 141
MARINE...STORM WARNING 120
         GALE WARNING 125 130 132 150 155 160 165 170 172 175 176 180

FIRE WEATHER...NONE

CB SEP 12

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Alaska Peninsula

When: September 22, 7:00 AM AKST to 4:45 PM AKST
Where: Alaska Peninsula forecast zone
Measured: 72 kt (83 mph) measured gust
Reported by: AWOS

High Wind, Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek

When: September 22, 10:30 AM AKST to 11:30 AM AKST
Where: Anchorage Muni to Bird Creek forecast zone
Measured: 75 kt (86 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet

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 2012 Every state in 2012 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, September 2012

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: 405339, 405319.