High wind in channeled areas of the Alaska Range on June 18th 2018. S.
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 AFG wrote it up.
High wind in channeled areas of the Alaska Range on June 18th 2018.
Zone 223: The U.S. Army Mesonet station at Fort Greely reported a wind gust to 61 kts (70 mph).
Zone 226: The U.S. Army Mesonet station Texas Condo reported a wind gust to 62 kts (71 mph).
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 Jun 18, 4:40 AM AKST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 540 AM AKDT Mon Jun 18 2018 .DISCUSSION... Synopsis... Wet conditions continue for much of the state as stationary low pressure over Bristol Bay continues to draw in North Pacific moisture into western and interior Alaska. A surface low developing along a shortwave trough extending southeast of the primary low will send a significant wave of moisture northward as it impacts the southwest coast near Kodiak Island this morning. This wave will follow an identical path as its predecessors with many of the same areas from the Y-K Delta north and eastward across the Brooks Range picking up significant rainfall. Alaska Range passes will continue to experience strong but gradually decreasing winds as the Bristol Bay low slowly deteriorates into this weekend when the synoptic pattern finally becomes more progressive. North Slope... Surface high pressure over the Chukchi Sea has retreated westward, allowing an Arctic low to exploit a weakness in the elongated ridge spanning the North Slope. Weather effects from this vertically stacked low will largely remain offshore though a short frontal boundary may break through the weak high to cause brief snow showers and low visibility around Barrow this morning. High pressure will build eastward as the low then tracks northeastward into the far reaches of the Canadian Arctic Tuesday. The stalled front running from the Bristol Bay low northeastward into the Brooks Range will generate a lee side surface low over the Mackenzie delta, facilitating the spread of rain across the Arctic Plain east of Deadhorse into Tuesday as high pressure regains control. West Coast and Western Interior... A strong surface low has developed along a trough extending southeast from the Bristol Bay low. A significant surge of moisture associated with this system will push northward today causing widespread moderate to locally heavy rainfall. Steady rain will begin to spread northward from the Kuskokwim and lower Yukon Valley this morning, reaching Galena to Bettles this afternoon, and the western Brooks Range tonight. Rainfall totals will be heaviest in the southwestern Brooks Range where upslope forcing along a stalled frontal boundary will bring the potential for up to 2 inches of rain through Tuesday for areas including Ambler and Kiana. Up to 1 inch of rain is possible through Tuesday from the Kuskokwim Valley to the Yukon Delta and Nulato Hills with most other areas receiving around 0.5 inches. Central and Eastern Interior... Mostly dry conditions from the Tanana Valley to the Yukon Flats has been supported by weak ridging over the eastern Interior as well as strong downsloping over the Alaska Range. A strong shortwave with significant moisture supported by a north Pacific low will swing northward across the region today. While much of the rainfall will be shadowed out, higher elevations north of Fairbanks to the upper Koyukuk Valley may see some brief light rain this afternoon as the front passes by before stalling over the Brooks Range this evening. Rainfall totals in the Brooks Range as well as areas of the Alaska Range could see up to 1.5 inches of rain through Tuesday. Additionally, this system will amplify the already strong winds through Alaska Range passes. Isabel Pass will likely experience winds up to 65 mph tonight with gusty conditions reaching northward to Delta. This is near warning criteria and a high wind warning may be warranted as events unfold. Progressively weaker shortwaves will continue to propagate northward as the Bristol Bay low slowly deteriorates through late this week. Rain chances will increase for much of eastern interior by the mid week as the Canadian ridge weakens and retreats eastward. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None. && .FIRE WEATHER... A surge of moisture associated with a powerful shortwave will track across the state today with significant wetting rains expected. The exception to this will be the eastern interior from the Tanana Valley to the Yukon Flats where rainfall chances will be minimal as a result of strong downsloping and weak high pressure. Strong wind swill persist through the Alaska Range through Tuesday, though the lowest relative humidity values will be displaced well to the east. A breakdown in the ridge by midweek may help increase chances for rain across the region as weaker shortwaves continue to propagate northward. && .HYDROLOGY... With many of the same areas expected to be impacted by the latest round of moderate to heavy rain, expect some rise in river levels particularly for sources in the southern Alaska Range and Brooks Range (Sag River). && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory for AKZ223-AKZ226. Small Craft Advisory for PKZ210-PKZ225. && COWMAN JUN 18
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong southerly Chinook winds through the Alaska Range passes resulted in wind gusts to 70 mph along the north side of the Alaska Range.
Strong southerly Chinook winds through the Alaska Range passes resulted in wind gusts to 71 mph along the north side of the Alaska Range.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, June 2018
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: 804281, 804282.