High Wind, Western Arctic Coast
- When
- March 8, 5:00 AM AKST to 8:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Western Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Measured
- 63 kt (72 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- AWOS
A peak wind of 63 kt (72 mph) reported at Cape Lisburne.
High Wind in Alaska, March 8, 2017
Strong winds developed over Northwest Alaska on march 8th between a low over Russia and a 1040 mb high over the Seward peninsula.
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 over Northwest Alaska on march 8th between a low over Russia and a 1040 mb high over the Seward peninsula.
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 7, 2:46 PM AKST, 14 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 7, 2:46 PM AKST, 14 hours 14 minutes before
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 246 PM AKST Tue Mar 7 2017 .DISCUSSION... Models in decent agreement through 60 hours. Upper level ridge building in strong over the Bering Sea and most all of Northern Alaska by Wednesday night. As the ridge amplifies and hedges eastward, much warmer air aloft will advect eastward as well. This will put an end to the very cold overnight temperatures that are substantially colder than 40 below in many places. By Thursday an upper level low in Eastern Russia will gradually move northeast around the upper level ridge and by Friday night tend to squash the upper level ridge down over the Arctic Coast. As the upper low moves to near Banks Island on Sun night, it will back door colder air back into the eastern part of Northern Alaska. This will force the upper level ridge back into the central Bering Sea. In the short term, high pressure will strengthen throughout Northern Alaska between now and Thursday. This combined with the surface low moving out of Far East Russia will increase the pressure gradient over the Northwest Arctic Coast by Wednesday morning and continue to strengthen through Thursday. This will likely create a high wind scenario over the Northwest Arctic Coast beginning Wednesday afternoon for the area around Cape Lisburne. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Gale Warning for PKZ225. Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ210. && MAR 17
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
- High Wind in Michigan, March 8, 2017
- High Wind in Michigan, March 8, 2017
- High Wind in New York, March 8, 2017
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in Montana, March 8 to 10, 2017
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Wisconsin, March 8, 2017
- Winter Weather in Michigan, March 8, 2017
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Illinois, March 8, 2017
- Debris Flow in Washington, March 8 to 15, 2017
- High Wind in Indiana, March 8, 2017
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, March 8, 2017
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, March 8, 2017
- High Wind in Ohio, March 8, 2017
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 2017
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: 686818.