Strong Wind, Middle Tanana Valley
- When
- December 12, 2:10 PM AKST to 10:10 PM AKST
- Where
- Middle Tanana Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 32 kt (37 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $100
- Reported by
- Newspaper
Strong Wind in Alaska, December 12, 2013
A deep low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska and stationary high pressure over the North Slope produced windy conditions over the Fairbanks area on the evening of the 10th into the morning of the 13th. Although wind gusts did not reach advisory level at the official locations of Fairbanks International Airport, Fort Wainwright or Eielson Air Force Base, wind gusted as high as 32 kt (37 mph) at the…
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $100
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 1
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 deep low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska and stationary high pressure over the North Slope produced windy conditions over the Fairbanks area on the evening of the 10th into the morning of the 13th. Although wind gusts did not reach advisory level at the official locations of Fairbanks International Airport, Fort Wainwright or Eielson Air Force Base, wind gusted as high as 32 kt (37 mph) at the Angel Creek RAWS. The wind blew trees into power lines already coated with ice from previous storms since November, causing 4,500 homes to be without power on the night of the 11th and into the 12th. Damage amounts are unknown however some property damage from frozen pipes may have occurred.
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 11, 11:24 PM AKST, 14 hours 46 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 11, 11:24 PM AKST, 14 hours 46 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 1124 PM AKST WED DEC 11 2013 .DISCUSSION... UPPER AIR... AN UPPER LOW CENTERED OVER THE KUSKOKWIM VALLEY IS PROGGED BY CURRENT MODELS TO BECOME AN ELONGATED CENTER EXTENDING FROM BRISTOL BAY NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS THE INTERIOR BY FRI MORNING. BY SAT MORNING THE LOW PRESSURE CENTER WILL BECOME RE-ORIENTED TO EXTEND SOUTH- NORTH ACROSS THE WESTERN INTERIOR THEN NORTHEAST TO THE MACKENZIE DELTA REGION. THE MAIN CENTER WILL DEEPEN AND MOVE INTO THE NORTHERN GULF OF ALASKA BY SAT EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING WILL PERSIST OVER EASTERN SIBERIA...CHUKCHI SEA...AND BEAUFORT SEA. A MODERATELY COLD AIR MASS WILL REMAIN OVER THE NORTHERN ALASKA MAINLAND. SURFACE... EXPANSIVE 1040 MB HIGH PRESSURE WILL PERSIST OVER EASTERN SIBERIA THROUGH FRI NIGHT...BUT WEAKENING SOME. 1044 MB HIGH CENTERED NEAR BARROW WILL WEAKEN CONSIDERABLY BY FRI. 987 MB LOW OVER THE NORTHEAST GULF OF ALASKA WILL WEAKEN INTO A TROUGH OVER THE NORTHERN GULF OF ALASKA BY LAT THU NIGHT. THE STRONG PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER NORTHERN ALASKA SOUTH OF THE BROOKS RANGE WILL WEAKEN SOME BEGINNING LATE FRI NIGHT AS THE HIGH AND LOW PRESSURE CENTERS WEAKEN. BLUSTERY NORTHEAST WINDS WILL CONTINUE OVER MUCH OF NORTHERN ALASKA SOUTH OF THE BROOKS RANGE THROUGH THU NIGHT. BY LATE FRI NIGHT...A STRONGER SURFACE LOW WILL MOVE NORTHWARD TO NEAR PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND...CREATING A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE ALASKA RANGE. THIS LOW ALONG WITH SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL PUMP MOISTURE INTO THE EASTERN INTERIOR. SNOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP IN THE EXTREME SOUTHEAST INTERIOR AND EASTERN BROOKS RANGE FRI EVENING... SPREADING NORTHWARD AND WESTWARD ACROSS THE EASTERN INTERIOR THROUGH SAT AND CONTINUING INTO SUN. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ219-AKZ220-AKZ221-AKZ222. HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ210. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200. && RF DEC 13
Event by event
1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
What these are
- Strong Wind
- Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, December 2013
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: 491098.