High Wind, Chukchi Sea Coast
- When
- January 23, 11:51 PM AKST to January 24, 4:56 AM AKST
- Where
- Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
- Measured
- 61 kt (70 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- AWOS
High Wind in Alaska, January 23 to 24, 2013
Strong winds developed along the west coast of Alaska between a 1053 high over the Arctic and low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska. A gust of 60 kt (69 mph) was recorded at the Golovin AWOS during the morning of the 24th, while a gust of 61 kt (70 mph) was recorded at the Point Hope AWOS.
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.
Strong winds developed along the west coast of Alaska between a 1053 high over the Arctic and low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska. A gust of 60 kt (69 mph) was recorded at the Golovin AWOS during the morning of the 24th, while a gust of 61 kt (70 mph) was recorded at the Point Hope AWOS.
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 Jan 23, 4:39 PM AKST, 7 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 23, 4:39 PM AKST, 7 hours 12 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 439 PM AKST WED JAN 23 2013 .DISCUSSION... A CHANGE IN THE OVERALL PATTERN TO A COOLER REGIME IS UNDERWAY ACROSS NORTHERN ALASKA. A STRONG UPPER LEVEL TROUGH OVER THE CANADIAN HIGH ARCTIC WILL PUSH SOUTHWEST AND SETTLE IN OVER MAINLAND ALASKA BY FRIDAY. THIS WILL USHER IN A MUCH COLDER AIR MASS WITH TEMPERATURES GRADUALLY FALLING TO BELOW NORMAL LEVELS DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS OR SO ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA. IN ADDITION...STRONG SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE ARCTIC OCEAN WILL DRIFT SOUTHWEST AND WEAKEN. THIS WILL ALLOW THE PRESSURE GRADIENT OVER MOST OF STATE TO SLACKEN AND RESULT IN DIMINISHING WINDS IN MOST AREAS. THE COMBINATION OF COLD AIR ARRIVING FROM THE ARCTIC AND A WEATHER FRONT MOVING NORTH ACROSS THE ALASKA RANGE WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TO PORTIONS OF THE SOUTHERN AND EASTERN INTERIOR BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT. MODELS ARE IN AGREEMENT WITH THE TIMING AND GENERAL LOCATION OF THE SNOWFALL...ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES IN AMOUNTS. WE DECIDED TO GO WITH AN AVERAGE OF THE SOLUTIONS AND KEPT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS SIMILAR TO THE PREVIOUS SHIFT AND EARLIER FORECASTS...THIS SEEMED VERY REASONABLE. NORTH SLOPE...THE RELENTLESS STRONG EASTERLY WINDS ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST ARE FINALLY GOING TO DIMINISH DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. THE WINDS WILL SWING AROUND TO THE WEST IN THE EASTERN ARCTIC TONIGHT AND EVENTUALLY TO THE NORTH IN THE WESTERN ARCTIC BY FRIDAY. A WEATHER FRONT MOVING SOUTH FROM THE ARCTIC WILL BRING A PERIOD OF SNOW TO THE EASTERN ARCTIC COAST THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY. WEST COAST...RELATIVELY BENIGN WEATHER OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS WITH GENERALLY LIGHT WINDS AND PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES...AND COOLING TEMPERATURES. INTERIOR...SOME LIGHT SNOW AND FLURRIES ARE LINGERING AROUND THE SOUTHEAST INTERIOR THIS EVENING WITH SNOW EXPECTED TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT. HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL ALONG THE ALASKA RANGE WEST OF THE TOK CUTOFF WHERE GOOD UPSLOPE EXISTS. THIS AREA IS EXPECTED TO RECEIVE 10 TO 14 INCHES OF SNOW THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING. SNOW WILL ALSO SPREAD ABOUT AS FAR WEST AS FAIRBANKS WITH AN INCH OR SO IN TOWN BUT UP TO 5 INCHES SOUTH AND EAST OF TOWN. FROM 4 TO 6 INCHES ARE EXPECTED IN THE FORTYMILE COUNTRY WITH MUCH LIGHTER AMOUNTS IN THE UPPER TANANA VALLEY. TEMPERATURES WILL GRADUALLY COOL WITH SOME CLEARING BEGINNING. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING FOR AKZ226. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ222-AKZ223-AKZ224-AKZ225. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ225-PKZ230. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ235-PKZ240. && JAN 13
Event by event
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Srn Seward Peninsula Coast
- When
- January 24, 12:56 AM AKST to 5:56 AM AKST
- Where
- Srn Seward Peninsula Coast forecast zone
- Measured
- 60 kt (69 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- AWOS
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
- Winter Weather in Virginia, January 23 to 24, 2013
- Winter Weather in Maryland, January 23 to 24, 2013
- Heavy Snow and High Wind in Montana, January 23 to 25, 2013
- Dense Fog and Strong Wind in California, January 23 to 27, 2013
- Cold in New Jersey, January 23, 2013
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 23 to 24, 2013
- Winter Storm and Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 23 to 24, 2013
- Lake-Effect Snow in Indiana, January 23 to 24, 2013
- High Wind in California, January 23, 2013
- Lake-Effect Snow in Michigan, January 23 to 24, 2013
- Lake-Effect Snow in Indiana, January 23 to 24, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Montana, January 23 to 24, 2013
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 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: 431396, 431394.