A North Pacific low moved into the Bering on May 14. The low lifted northward on May 15, with its front sweeping eastward across the Alaska Peninsula.
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The episode as NWS AFC wrote it up.
A North Pacific low moved into the Bering on May 14. The low lifted northward on May 15, with its front sweeping eastward across the Alaska Peninsula. This tightened pressure gradients and increased wind speeds, especially through bays and passes. Cold Bay experienced a period of gusty winds on May 15 before the weakening low lifted further north.
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 May 14, 4:31 AM AKST, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier.
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 531 AM AKDT Thu May 14 2026 .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 through 3: This morning through Saturday afternoon)... Fairly calm and typical springtime conditions continue to settle into Southcentral this morning. Southeasterly flow in between a weak ridge building over the Interior and a broad trough extending across the Gulf and AKPen is slowly turning more easterly with time as heights continue to rise near the developing ridge to the north. Widely scattered showers are drifting across parts of the region, particularly over the southern Kenai Peninsula. Most of the area remains covered by varying cloud layers, but much of the Mat Valley is actually enjoying a break in the clouds for the time being. The overall pattern will not change much through the next two days. Multiple weak shortwaves (or "easterly" waves) will move around the southern periphery of the ridge of high pressure building over the northern half of the outlook area through Friday morning, concentrating the best shower potential across parts of the Copper Valley and near/around the Talkeetna Mountains. There is still a fair amount of spread in terms of the timing and location of heavier shower activity, so be prepared for nuisance rain showers for just about any point from now through Friday afternoon. Attention then shifts to a strong North Pacific low that will begin to impact sensible conditions across much of Southcentral at the start of the weekend. By Saturday morning, the low will move north into the eastern Bering Sea and push a strong front into the southwestern Gulf. Gusty southeast winds up to Gale Force range and rain will move past Kodiak Island as the front moves past sometime on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, the approaching low and front will help build up a strong coastal ridge along the northern Gulf Coast, supporting a return to strong and gusty gap winds through all of the typical spots along the Kenai and Chugach Mountains by Saturday afternoon. Upslope-driven precipitation will also begin to fill in along the eastern side of the Kenai Peninsula late in the day as southeasterly flow and increasing moisture transport begin to tick up out ahead of the front lifting into the Gulf. Expect this system to continue to bring more unsettled conditions to the area through the remainder of the weekend. -AS && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (Days 1 through 3)... A trough over the eastern Bering slides eastward and into the Gulf on Friday. Isolated showers over Southwest Alaska will come to an end tonight as high pressure briefly sets in over the region. The morning has been damp, with fog noted over Bethel and over Dillingham. Much of the remaining precipitation is occurring along the Kuskokwim Delta Coast where a passing wave of low pressure is departing westward and offshore of the Kuskokwim Coast. A 982 mb North Pacific low is approaching the Aleutians with its front already overspreading Shemya and soon Adak. This low will continue to be the main focus for notable weather into the weekend. Models take the low and its front eastward along the Aleutian Chain, with the low experiencing some deepening (~976 mb) as it stalls over Unalaska late Friday. Widespread showers will accompany the low's movement over the Aleutians and southern Bering, with the an occluded front spreading additional showers across the Alaska Peninsula into Friday night. While the low lifts northward on Saturday and rapidly weakens, gusty winds will follow the front's eastward progression with gusts ranging from 35 to 45 knots on Friday. Gusty southeasterly winds then spread into Southwest Alaska on Saturday. As far precipitation is concerned, Southwest Alaska will remain dry on Friday; however, the front will eventually make landfall with the Southwest coast Saturday morning with at least scattered showers expected from Bristol Bay up into the YK Delta. -BL && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7: Sunday through Wednesday)... Upper level troughing over the Bering Sea extending into the Gulf looks to persist through at least early to mid next week, allowing for the unsettled weather across much of southern Alaska to continue. By Sunday morning, models remain in good agreement on a front lifting north and stalling in the northern Gulf. This front is expected to bring moderate to potentially heavy precipitation along the eastern Kenai Peninsula and Prince William Sound, while strong east to southeasterly winds in the Gulf begin to diminish through Sunday. Chances for showers across inland locations for Southcentral and Southwest Alaska increase heading into next week as successive shortwaves within the broad cyclonic flow behind the front rotate north into southern Alaska. Meanwhile, the parent low in the Bering begins to merge with the next incoming Kamchatka low which strengthens and consolidates just to the south of the Aleutian Chain by early next week, bringing another round of winds and rain to the AKPen and Southwest Alaska. Model agreement begins to wane heading into the middle of next week, although ensemble means favor this low taking a more northerly track into the Bering as another front and plume of moisture moves east into the Gulf. && .AVIATION... PANC...VFR conditions will likely prevail through the period, with ceilings generally above 5,000 ft today. Shower activity should be limited over Anchorage, with only a slight chance for a light shower or two drifting over the terminal. Similar to yesterday, Turnagain Arm winds will reintensify later this afternoon, bringing southeasterly winds with gusts approaching 25 kts into the evening hours, before diminishing overnight. A marine stratus later could push into Anchorage overnight, which would cause ceilings to fall to below 5,000 ft into tomorrow morning. -CW &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Cold Bay ASOS (PACD) observed winds gusting over 75 mph starting 12:05 PM AKDT May 15. Winds frequently gusted over 75 mph, with a peak wind gust of 83 mph at 12:59 PM, until 1:33 PM, when wind gusts dropped below 70 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, May 2026
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: 1334581.