High Wind, Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile
- When
- January 2, 2:20 PM AKST to January 3, 9:00 AM AKST
- Where
- Upr Tanana Vly Fortymile forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph) estimated gust
- Reported by
- Trained Spotter
High Wind in Alaska, January 2 to 3, 2016
A strong weather front move north over the Alaska Range on the 3rd. In advance of the front winds increased through Isabel Pass of the Alaska Range as well as in the area near the Robertson River about 30 miles northwest of Tok.
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.
A strong weather front move north over the Alaska Range on the 3rd. In advance of the front winds increased through Isabel Pass of the Alaska Range as well as in the area near the Robertson River about 30 miles northwest of Tok. High winds were reported at:
Zone 224: Robertson River spotter estimated gusts to 65 mph (56 kt).
Zone 226: The U.S. Army Mesonet site Texas Condo reported gusts as high as 79 mph (69 kt); Texas Range and Washington Range both reported gusts to 73 mph (63 kt).
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 2, 2:08 AM AKST, 12 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 2, 2:08 AM AKST, 12 hours 12 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 208 AM AKST SAT JAN 2 2016 .DISCUSSION... 00Z MODELS INITIALIZED WELL AGAINST THE 00Z ANALYSIS AND VERIFIED WELL AGAINST THE 06Z ANALYSIS. MODEL SPREAD IS MINIMAL THROUGH THE SHORT TERM AND IS REASONABLE THROUGH BOTH THE MID TERM AND LONG TERM. ACTIVE PATTERN WILL CONTINUE OVER NORTHERN ALASKA WITH LARGE AMPLITUDE RIDGE PARKED OVER WESTERN NORTH AMERICA REMAINING PARKED IN PLACE THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND BUILDING NORTH AND WEST WITH 546 DAM RIDGE AT 500 HPA CENTERED OVER THE YUKON BY TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. THE UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER BRISTOL BAY WILL DRIFT NORTH AND WEST TO NEAR NUNIVAK ISLAND OVER THE WEEKEND AND REPOSITION AND WEAKENS OVER THE CENTRAL BERING SEA AS THE UPPER LEVEL OVER RIDGE BUILDS NORTH AND WEST. SECOND SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY MOVING ONSHORE ALONG THE SOUTH COAST OF ALASKA WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH NORTH AND WILL BE ALONG THE ALASKA RANGE THIS MORNING. A 65 KT JET MAX AT 850 MB COMBINED WITH STRONG DOWNWARD FORCING WITH MOUNTAIN WAVE BREAKING WILL PRODUCE WARNING LEVEL WIND GUSTS ALONG THE NORTH SLOPES AND NEAR THE PASSES OF THE ALASKA RANGE IN ZONES 225 AND 226 WHERE HIGH WIND WARNINGS HAVE BEEN HOISTED. EXPECT ADVISORY LEVEL WIND GUSTS NEAR DELTA JUNCTION IN ZONE 223 AND ALONG THE ALASKA RANGE IN ZONE 227 WHERE ADVISORIES ARE ONGOING. WINDS ALREADY INCREASING AND EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TROUGH LATE TONIGHT. CHINOOK FLOW WILL KEEP SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN INTERIOR DRY. 925 MB WINDS WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE OVER SUMMITS ESPECIALLY OVER THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN INTERIOR WHERE BLOWING SNOW WILL LIKELY DROP VISIBILITY HOWEVER ADVISORY LEVEL GUSTS NOT EXPECTED ATTM. MOISTURE ALONG THE FRONT CONTINUES TO MOVE NORTH AND WEST OVER WESTERN ALASKA AND THE WEST COAST OF ALASKA. FORECAST SOUNDINGS CONTINUE TO INDICATE MIXED PRECIPITATION OVER WESTERN INTERIOR WEST AND NORTH OF MCGRATH AND ALONG THE WEST COAST SOUTH OF THE SEWARD PENINSULA. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ISSUED FOR ZONES 214...215 AND 216 FOR SNOW...BLOWING SNOW AND FREEZING RAIN THROUGH THIS EVENING AND SUNDAY MORNING AS THE FRONT ROTATES THROUGH THE AREA. LESS THAN ONE TENTH OF AN INCH OF ICE IS EXPECTED AND AROUND 4 INCHES OF SNOW EXPECTED. SNOW WILL INCREASE OVER THE SOUTHERN SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL AND WESTERN BROOKS RANGE WITH FAVORED UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT AND UPSLOPE WILL ENHANCE SNOWFALL TOTALS. WILL NEED TO MONITOR FOR REACHING ADVISORY LEVEL SNOWFALL TOTALS IN THESES AREAS. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FOR AKZ223-AKZ227. HIGH WIND WARNING FOR AKZ225-AKZ226. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR AKZ213-AKZ214-AKZ215-AKZ216. BRISK WIND ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ245. && CCC JAN 16
Event by event
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng
- When
- January 2, 3:20 PM AKST to January 3, 12:20 AM AKST
- Where
- Ne. Slopes of the Ern Ak Rng forecast zone
- Measured
- 69 kt (79 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
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
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2016
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: 616141, 616142.