High Wind, St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait
- When
- March 4, 10:44 PM AKST to March 5, 5:12 AM AKST
- Where
- St Lawrence Is. Bering Strait forecast zone
- Measured
- 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- AWOS
High Wind in Alaska, March 4 to 5, 2013
Strong winds developed along the west coast of Alaska between a 1045 high over the Arctic and 977 mb low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska. A gust of 58 kt (67 mph) was recorded at the Wales AWOS during the morning of the 5th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- 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.
Strong winds developed along the west coast of Alaska between a 1045 high over the Arctic and 977 mb low pressure in the Gulf of Alaska. A gust of 58 kt (67 mph) was recorded at the Wales AWOS during the morning of the 5th.
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 Mar 4, 4:00 PM AKST, 6 hours 44 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 4, 4:00 PM AKST, 6 hours 44 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 400 PM AKST MON MAR 4 2013 .SYNOPSIS... ALOFT... THE LONG WAVE PATTERN CONSISTS OF DEEP TROUGH OVER THE NW PACIFIC AND BERING SEA AND A STRONG RIDGE OVER MAINLAND ALASKA. THE RIDGE WILL PERSIST INTO WED AND THEN WEAKEN AS THE TROUGH PROGRESSES EAST OVER ALASKA. SOUTH FLOW ALOFT DEVELOPING OVER ALASKA THU WILL CONTINUE INTO FRI. CONDITIONS WILL WARM TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL THROUGH THE WEEK AND THEN REMAIN WARM INTO THE WEEKEND. A SHORT WAVER TROUGH IN THE SOUTHWEST INTERIOR WILL MOVE TO NW ALASKA TONIGHT AND NORTH OF THE ARCTIC SLOPE TUE. THERE WILL BE SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WITH THIS DIMINISHING TO FLURRIES TONIGHT. A SECOND AND STRONGER SHORT WAVE IN THE SE BERING WILL MOVE TO SW ALASKA BY 3PM TUE AND TO NOME TO MCGRATH BY 3PM WED. THIS WILL PUSH A FRONT NE THAT WILL BE MENTIONED BELOW. 850 MB TEMPERATURES ARE NOW -10C OR WARMER AND WILL REMAIN WARM THIS WEEK. WILL SEE SLIGHT WARMING INTERIOR AND NORTH SLOPE TONIGHT. SURFACE... STRONG HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE BEAUFORT SEA WILL PERSIST. THIS IS NOW CAUSING E WINDS 20-25 KT ALONG THE ARCTIC COAST ALONG WITH SOME BLOWING SNOW. WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 30 KT TUE AND CONTINUE INTO WED CAUSING LOW VISIBILITY IN BLOWING SNOW. A STRONG 969 MB LOW IN THE WESTERN BERING SEA WILL MOVE NORTH INTO RUSSIA AND WEAKEN. AN ASSOCIATED WEATHER FRONT THAT LIES FROM THE GULF OF ANADYR TO THE SOUTHEAST BERING WILL MOVE TO LIE FROM WRANGEL ISLAND TO THE BERING STRAIT TO THE YUKON DELTA BY 3PM TUE. A LOW DEVELOPING ALONG THIS FRONT IN BRISTOL BAY TUE WILL MOVE TO THE BERING STRAIT AS A 996 MB LOW WED AM. GALE FORCE SE WINDS AHEAD OF THE FRONT ALONG WITH 3-6 INCHES OF SNOW WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ALONG THE WEST COAST. DUE TO TEMPERATURES WARMING INTO THE 30S WE HAVE KEPT CONDITIONS JUST ABOVE BLIZZARD BUT WILL BE CLOSE. WILL SEE SOME RAIN YUKON DELTA TONIGHT AS WELL. COULD SEE 4-8 INCHES OF SNOW OVER THE UP SLOPE AREAS OF THE SEWARD PENINSULA AND NULATO HILLS BUT AMOUNTS STILL UNCERTAIN DUE TO WARM TEMPERATURES. SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO THE CENTRAL INTERIOR LATE WED. CHINOOK WINDS DEVELOPING THU ACROSS THE ALASKA RANGE WILL CAUSE A STRONG WARMING IN THE SE INTERIOR THU AND FRI. && .DISCUSSION... MODELS SHOW SIMILAR SOLLUTIONS THROUGH WED. EXCEPTION IS THE WAVE LOW DEVELOPING IN BRISTOL BAY TUE. PREFER THE DEEPER GFS SOLUTION ON THIS FEATURE. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ202-AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ213-AKZ214. WINTER STORM WATCH FOR AKZ210-AKZ211-AKZ212-AKZ215-AKZ216. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ240-PKZ245. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240- PKZ245. && JB MAR 13
Event by event
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, March 4, 2013
- High Surf in Hawaii, March 4 to 5, 2013
- Winter Storm in Iowa, March 4 to 5, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 4 to 5, 2013
- High Wind in South Dakota, March 4, 2013
- Strong Wind in Louisiana, March 4, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, March 4 to 5, 2013
- Winter Storm in Illinois, March 4 to 6, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Iowa, March 4 to 5, 2013
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 4 to 5, 2013
- Frost and Freeze in Florida, March 4, 2013
- Winter Storm in Wisconsin, March 4 to 5, 2013
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 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: 445818.