The second in a series of storms causing high winds over a few days. A storm force low moved into the eastern gulf with a very strong associated front passing across the southern Panhandle Sunday afternoon.
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 AJK wrote it up.
The second in a series of storms causing high winds over a few days. A storm force low moved into the eastern gulf with a very strong associated front passing across the southern Panhandle Sunday afternoon. The front unleashed high winds across Prince of Wales Island and the Southern Inner Channels.
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 Juneau, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 26, 4:40 AM AKST, 7 hours 32 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
540 AM AKDT Sun Apr 26 2020
.SHORT TERM...While Saturday's zero lead-time high wind event
through Ketchikan, the southern Inner Channels, and the southeast
gulf suffered from conflicting solutions and guidance, Sunday's
system has enjoyed universal agreement on strength and track. Were
it not for lack of focus in Saturday's event, we may have issued a
a high wind watch by now. But without a preceding watch,
confidence is nevertheless high enough to post a high wind
warning for the far southern Panhandle from 10 AM to 10 PM Sunday
(today).
As the remnants of Saturday's system passes as a front northwestward
across the northern gulf, a storm force low and its associated
vigorous front lifts north into the southeast gulf and Dixon
Entrance this afternoon. While confidence is high for gusts of 60
mph across Prince of Wales, Revillagigedo, Annette Islands, and
the rest of the southern Inner Channels, we are not certain of
timing. The best guess for the highest winds falls within noon and
8 PM, but we felt the need for an extra two hours on either side
to account for timing error. Other communities should feel impacts
from the front as well: namely Sitka, Tenakee Springs, Wrangell,
Kake, Coffman Cove, and Point Baker with gusts of 30 to 45 mph.
Gale force winds will impact marine interests through Clarence
and Sumner Strait today while storm force winds of 50 kt plague
the eastern gulf and Dixon Entrance this afternoon.
The low stalls in the east-central gulf tonight and weakens
through Monday. However, owing from its newly stalled position,
low and mid- level flow veers from southeast to more southerly
across much of the Panhandle. This re- positioning of the low
opens the door to deeper moisture and more efficient orographic
enhancement for the northern Panhandle than we have seen lately.
Thus Juneau and Haines can look forward to a wetter day on Monday
compared to Sunday, even as Ketchikan, Sitka, Petersburg, and
Wrangell perceive no difference, except that today winds will be
much stronger.
The stronger GFS winds were emphasized for this forecast, even
while nudging with other slightly weaker models for isotach
positioning.
.LONG TERM.../Tuesday through Sunday as of 10 pm Saturday/ Long
range forecast is looking rather active as we remain on the
eastern side of a broad upper trough that stretches from the
Aleutians to the Gulf of Alaska. Main Pacific storm track does
not deviate much over the week as lows track east across the
northern pacific before wrapping up into the eastern gulf and NE
Pacific where they then weaken away.
Overall changes to the forecast mainly focused on the middle range
from Tue into Thu where guidance is starting to zero in on another
low moving into the eastern gulf from the south. Agreement was
better today but still some noticeable spread was apparent in low
placement (About 100 mile spread between model tracks) and
strength (ranging from 986 to 995 mb). Settled on a 991 mb low
that eventually moves into the north central gulf by Thu for now
with winds of 30 kt around it initially (though that could go
higher). Another breezy to windy day on Tue into Tue night for the
southern panhandle is also likely as the associated front moves
through (possible gusts of 40 mph or more). Rain will also remain
a fixture of this storm with it sweeping up the panhandle Tue into
Tue night. Expect around 1 to 2 inches of rain Tue through Wed
with the highest amounts in the southern panhandle.
Little in the way of changes past Thursday, as we receive a little
bit of a break by way of the jet stream taking a more southerly
route late week into the weekend. Confidence on this is poor
though as guidance ranges anywhere from a low pulling up into the
gulf as early as Sat to a much slower northward drift with the
storm not affecting the panhandle until Sun night (and even
then it is only the southern panhandle). Pops are left at chance
under mostly cloudy skies for most of the panhandle as a result.
Trended toward WPC and NBM for updates with some ECMWF for the mid
range period.
&&
.AJK Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
PUBLIC...Strong Wind from 1 PM AKDT this afternoon through this evening
for AKZ026.
High Wind Warning from 10 AM this morning to 10 PM AKDT this
evening for AKZ027-028.
Strong Wind from 1 PM AKDT this afternoon through late tonight
for AKZ023.
Strong Wind from this afternoon through late tonight for AKZ021.
MARINE...Storm Warning for PKZ041>043.
Gale Warning for PKZ035-036-051.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ012-013-021-022-031>034-052.
&&
JWA/EAL
Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Marine Exchange sensor at the Ketchikan Harbor measured gusts over 60 mph for 7 hours on Sunday the 26th, including a peak gusts of 68 mph at 732 pm local time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, April 2020
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: 879968.