Name: Strong Wind in Alaska, November 27, 2015
Start: 2015-11-27T11:25
End: 2015-11-27T14:55
Location: Alaska

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $1,000
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.

Strong winds developed over summits of the western interior during the afternoon of November 27th as the pressure gradient tightened between a 970 mb low pressure center in Bristol bay and high pressure over the arctic.

Zone 219: A peak wind of 45 kt ( 51 mph) was reported at the Indian Mountain 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 Nov 27, 6:01 AM AKST, 5 hours 24 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 27, 6:01 AM AKST, 5 hours 24 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
601 AM AKST FRI NOV 27 2015

.DISCUSSION...

MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THROUGH AT LEAST 48 HOURS. UPPER LEVEL
RIDGING OVER THE INTERIOR TODAY WILL WEAKEN AND SLIDE TO THE EAST
OVER THE CANANDIAN YUKON. UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER THE EASTERN
ALEUTIANS WILL TRACK NORTHEAST AND WEAKEN OVER THE YUKON DELTA
SATURDAY MORNING AND THEN TRACK OVER SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND
SATURDAY EVENING. CONTINUED WARM TEMPS TODAY OVER THE INTERIOR
WITH A COOLING TREND OVER THE WEEKEND.

SURFACE...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD IN THROUGH FRIDAY OVER THE ARCTIC
COAST FROM THE PARENT HIGH IN FAR EAST RUSSIA. STRONG 975 MB LOW
NEAR COLD BAY WILL MOVE TO NEAR NUNIVAK ISLAND BY EARLY SAT
MORNING AS A 979 MB LOW AND PRODUCE A VERY STRONG PRESSURE
GRADIENT OVER THE NORTHWEST ARCTIC COAST. THE LOW WILL WEAKEN TO
981 JUST SOUTH OF SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

WEST COAST...A DECENT PRESSURE GRADIENT DEVELOPING OVER THE WEST
COAST TODAY AND TONIGHT BETWEEN THE HIGH OVER THE ARCTIC AND LOW
PRESSURE MOVING INTO THE BERING SEA. GUSTS TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE NEAR
POINT HOPE AND AREAS ALONG THE BERING STRAIT THROUGH SATURDAY.
WINDS WILL DIMINISH SOME ON SUNDAY. SOME SNOW IS EXPECTED WITH LOW
OVER THE WEST COAST BUT LIGHT AMOUNTS EXPECTED. ZONE 213 WILL SEE
LOWER VISIBILITY IN BLOWING SNOW TONIGHT AND SATURDAY.

INTERIOR...MODERATE CHINOOK THIS MORNING AND AFTERNOON IN THE
ALASKA RANGE. GUSTS TO 60 MPH IN PASSES ARE POSSIBLE IN THE USUAL
CHANNELLED AREAS. WIND ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR ZONES 225
AND 226. DELTA JUNCTION COULD SEE GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH. VERY LIGHT
RETURNS ON THE RADAR THIS MORNING. ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS AND A
SLIGHT CHANCE FOR FREEZING RAIN OVER THE INTERIOR THIS MORNING.
LITTLE TO NO ICE ACCUMULATION EXPECTED. SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS ON
SATURDAY AND EVEN COLDER ON SUNDAY AS RIDGING WEAKENS AND COOLER
850 TEMPS MOVE IN ALOFT.

COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ225-AKZ226.

HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225.

BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ220-PKZ230-PKZ235-PKZ240-
PKZ245.
&&

NOV 15

In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 27, 10:09 AM AKST, 1 hour 16 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
1009 AM AKST FRI NOV 27 2015

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1007 AM     HEAVY SNOW       COLLEGE                 64.87N 147.82W
11/27/2015  M1.3 INCH                           AK   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            AS OF 9 AM THIS MORNING, THE COLLEGE OBSERVATORY HAS
            RECORDED 1.3 INCHES NEW SNOW LAST 24 HOURS. THIS GIVES A
            THREE DAY TOTAL OF 5.6 INCHES AND A SNOW DEPTH, WITH SOME
            SETTLING, OF 17 INCHES.

&&

HFL

Event by event

1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Upper Koyukuk Valley

When: November 27, 11:25 AM AKST to 2:55 PM AKST
Where: Upper Koyukuk Valley forecast zone
Measured: 45 kt (52 mph) measured gust
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: AWOS

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 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, November 2015

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: 606995.