A cold front attached to a low near the Bering Strait passed through the Alaska Peninsula. Behind this system, high pressure quickly moved in over the Bering Sea.
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.
The episode as NWS AFC wrote it up.
A cold front attached to a low near the Bering Strait passed through the Alaska Peninsula. Behind this system, high pressure quickly moved in over the Bering Sea. This brought strong northerly winds to the eastern Bering Sea and Alaska Peninsula.
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 Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 19, 4:48 PM AKST, 5 hours 26 minutes earlier.
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 448 PM AKST Sun Nov 19 2017 .ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS... A strong short-wave trough continues to dig south of Kodiak Island, supported by a 160 kt upper level jet streak diving southward across the eastern Bering Sea on the front side of a high amplitude ridge. Cold air advection across the eastern Bering and Alaska Peninsula is leading to widespread strong gusty winds, with near warning level winds (75 mph) being observed through channeled areas along the southern Alaska Peninsula and Eastern Aleutians. Even colder "Arctic" air over northern Alaska and the northern Bering Sea is poised to advect southward through this same corridor as an upper level low over interior Southwest weakens and gives way to a strengthening low over the Gulf. Out ahead of the trough light snow has been falling across nearly all of Southcentral Alaska today. However, snow is beginning to lighten up and taper off as energy is transferred down to the Gulf and low level offshore flow strengthens. Gusty northerly winds along Cook Inlet are also leading to blowing snow and significantly reduced visibilities across portions of the western Kenai Peninsula. Conditions will improve here as the snow lightens. Kodiak Island is in a precarious position right along the upper trough axis and just west of the developing surface low over the Gulf. Temperatures have warmed into the mid to upper 30s, but cold air advecting in from the west will cool the shallow above freezing layer near the surface and change precipitation to snow. Heavier bands of snow will approach from the Gulf as the low deepens, likely affecting the northeast end of the island, including Kodiak City. However, the relatively warm surface temperatures will limit blowing snow. && .MODEL DISCUSSION... Overall, model guidance is in very good agreement with large scale features. The primary forecast challenge in the short-term is determining how much precip from the Gulf low will make it to Kodiak Island and how quickly surface temperatures will fall once snow develops. All guidance indicates some wobbles in the low as it develops and tracks southward, so will need to keep an eye on satellite imagery to track heavier bands of snow. && .AVIATION... PANC...Ceilings and visibility will steadily improve this evening as snow ends and northerly low level flow strengthens. The winds should keep any fog or stratus from forming, which often occurs in the wake of fresh snow. Cold air advection will increase on Monday and though not strong, it looks like just enough to help mix down stronger winds from aloft to the surface. Thus, have trended up with the wind forecast. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 through 3)... The front across Southcentral slides to the Gulf this evening bringing snow to an end across inland locations. A triple point surface low which developed along the western Gulf this afternoon deepens tonight as a strong upper level wave rounds the base of the mid level trough. This strong wave closes off a new center over the southern Gulf waters tonight keeping mixed precipitation across the Gulf with a few showers moving into coastal locations through early Monday morning. Skies will clear on Monday from west to east across the mainland as subsidence occurs along a ridge shifting in from the Bering. The main forecast challenge on Monday surrounds the strength and timing of wind speeds across channeled terrain as offshore flow develops in the wake of the low. Only minor changes were made to increase speeds across the Matanuska Valley and keep slightly higher gusts through midnight for Thompson Pass as a jet streak moves overhead while an upper level wave moves east from the Chugach Mountains. Tuesday will be relatively quiet across the region as the low in the Gulf moves further southeast. Kodiak and the Gulf waters... Updated the forecast to take out the Winter Weather Advisory as snow amounts are not expected to be as high as previously expected. Snow remains in the forecast through Monday as a developing shortwave moves from the Southwest to the western Gulf, however snow accumulations were lowered. Snow will taper off Monday night as the low pressure system slides to the south. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA (Days 1 and 2)... The low pressure system that brought snow, freezing rain, and strong winds to the area will continue to move off to the southeast into the Gulf of Alaska tonight. A few remaining snow showers over the Kuskokwim Delta and higher terrain to the east will taper off this evening. Cold air and strong winds will filter down from the north on the backside of the low, which could lead to some areas of blowing snow where light powdery snow had previously accumulated, especially inland areas to the north. Along the Western Capes, strong northerly winds with gusts to 40-50 mph will continue as a low level jet just to the west over the Bering Straight moves through the area. By tomorrow, a transitory upper level ridge moves in bringing clearing skies and diminishing winds, though temperatures will drop to their lowest levels of the season at some locations. Cloud cover will increase again by Monday night as the next system approaches from the northwest bringing another round of precipitation and windy conditions on Tuesday. This system looks to be a bit weaker than its predecessor, though snow should fall across most areas with rain still likely along the Western Capes. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (Days 1 and 2)... Strong winds will continue tonight along the Eastern Bering and Aleutians as a northerly low level jet descends through the Bering Strait. Aided by a 160 kt jet streak at 300 mb and mid level cold air advection from the Arctic, winds will mix down and accelerate through channeled areas and terrain gaps leading to gusts up to 75 mph from Dutch Harbor east. Winds will quickly diminish tonight and tomorrow morning as an upper level ridge moves over the Eastern Bering. Therefore, no changes were made to the current high wind warnings and are on track to expire at midnight for Dutch Harbor and 6 am for Cold Bay Further west, another system approaches as a strong warm front attached to a low anchored over Eastern Russia sweeps northeast across the Western Bering/Aleutians bringing rain and gale force winds to the area tonight through tomorrow night. The pattern continues as high pressure builds in rapidly behind the departing system bringing a quick relief in the active weather before another strong low pushes in from the southwest Tuesday night. This storm is progged to rapidly deepen as it moves across the Bering on Wednesday and looks to be the makings of a possible strong winter storm late this week for the Eastern Bering and Southwest mainland. && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 3 through 7)... On Tuesday, a low well north of the Arctic Circle will bring a front through the southern portion of the mainland, with a brief shot of snow for the entire region and some short lived outflow winds for the Southcentral area. Tuesday night and Wednesday will be the literal calm before the storm for most of the state, as a low pressure system enters the western Bering late Tuesday night and strengthens rapidly as it crosses the Bering. Models have been relatively consistent with the track of this storm varying a little to the south over the past day. Current forecast is for the low to cross the northern Bering and move onshore near Nunivak Island late Wednesday night, before moving southeastward over the Kuskowim Delta and Bristol Bay before heading into the Gulf on Thursday night. It is still expected to be a storm force low and significant winds and waves are currently in the forecast for the Bering Sea...with some concern for high winds and seas in the Bristol Bay region on Wednesday. Behind this storm another northwesterly punch will bring high winds for the Pribilofs and the AK Pen, not unlike the pattern from this weekend. As the storm moves into the Gulf, northwesterly outflow winds will again be the concern for Southcentral on Friday. On Saturday, the pattern begins again with another low approaching from the southwest, although this system appears to take a more northerly track along the Kamchatka Peninsula, hopefully lessening the wind and wave threat in Alaska for next weekend. && .AFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PUBLIC...High Wind Warning 181 185. MARINE...Gale 127 130 138 139 160 173 174 178 179 181 185. Storm 119 120 131-137 150 155 165-172 180. && SYNOPSIS AND MODEL DISCUSSION...SEB SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA...KH SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS...KVP LONG TERM...LF
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
King Cove measured 10 hours of warning level or near warning level winds.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, November 2017
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: 726764.