Strong Wind, Middle Tanana Valley
- When
- May 31, 10:55 AM AKST to 8:45 PM AKST
- Where
- Middle Tanana Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 37 kt (43 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $5,000
- Reported by
- ASOS
Strong Wind in Alaska, May 31, 2014
A cold front moved north over the area during the afternoon and brought gusty winds which lasted into the evening. At the Fairbanks International Airport, the ASOS reported a peak gust of 42 mph (37 kt).
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $5,000
- 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 cold front moved north over the area during the afternoon and brought gusty winds which lasted into the evening. At the Fairbanks International Airport, the ASOS reported a peak gust of 42 mph (37 kt). Other wind sensors in the area recorded peak gusts of 25 to 37 mph.
With the leading edge of the cold front some thunderstorms occurred...lasting no more than an hour in any location.
There were widespread but mostly short duration power outages. Around 12 fires started when trees fell across power lines...but all were contained and most did not expand to more than one-tenth of an acre. A parked float plane at Fairbanks International Airport was blown over. Visibility was briefly reduced to 3 miles or less in places Saturday afternoon due to blowing dust. Damage amount is roughly estimated as minor damage occurred in various areas , such as a sign blown down at a plumbing store and several residents had portions of roofing blown off.
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 May 31, 4:42 AM AKST, 6 hours 13 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, May 31, 4:42 AM AKST, 6 hours 13 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 542 AM AKDT SAT MAY 31 2014 .DISCUSSION... MODELS ONLY IN AGREEMENT THROUGH ABOUT 24 TO 30 HOURS. UPPER LEVEL NEAR KODIAK ISLAND WHILE SURFACE LOW HAS SPUN ITSELF TO UP JUST SOUTH OF RUBY. OCCLUDED FRONT IMPACTING THE NORTH GULF GULF COAST THIS MORNING BEFORE IT MOVES NORTH TO THE NEAR THE BROOKS RANGE BY LATE TONIGHT. THIS SYSTEM IS ADVERTISED TO HAVE A TON OF MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH IT. THIS HAS TO POTENTIAL TO HAVE A SEVERAL PLACES THAT COULD SEE A LARGE AREA OF A LOT OF RAIN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE STATE. THIS WILL HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE ARCTIC COAST AS WELL WITH RAIN...FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW. THE TEMPERATURES STATING MAKING A COME BACK BY MID WEEK AND THE INTERIOR BEGINS TO HEAT UP ONCE BEHIND THESE FRONTS AGAIN BUT THIS TIME THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY COLDER AIR TO FILL IN BEHIND IT THIS TIME. STRONG WINDS THROUGH THE ALASKA RANGE PASSES WITH THE CHINOOK FLOW WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY FOR SURE AND THEN BEGIN TO DIMINISH FROM THE WEST BY LATE SAT NIGHT OR EARLY SUN. && .FIRE WEATHER... RH VALUES WILL BE LOW AGAIN TODAY AND RED FLAGS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE ALASKA RANGE ZONES AS THE WINDS HAVE SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED. && .HYDROLOGY...VARIOUS FLOOD ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR THE SONES 203...204...205, && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ223-AKZ225-AKZ226-AKZ227. RED FLAG WARNING FOR AKZ223-AKZ225-AKZ226. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ210. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240- PKZ245. && MAY 14
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
- Marine Strong Wind in Eastern Pacific Coastal Waters, May 31, 2014
- Rip Current in North Carolina, May 31, 2014
- Lightning Strikes in Minnesota, May 31, 2014
- Damaging Winds in Iowa, May 31, 2014
- Tornadoes and Hail in Montana, May 31, 2014
- Tornado and Hail in Wyoming, May 31, 2014
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Montana, May 31, 2014
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Wyoming, May 31, 2014
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Nebraska, May 31, 2014
- Flash Flooding in Minnesota, May 31, 2014
- Damaging Winds in Minnesota, May 31, 2014
- Flash Flooding in South Carolina, May 31, 2014
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 2014
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: 509962.