High Wind — Eastern Aleutians, Alaska

2023-01-20 to 2023-01-21 · Eastern Aleutians, Alaska

Event narrative

The Nikolski National Ocean Service observation site began recording strong easterly wind gusts above 75 mph by around 6 AM AKST 1/21 as the front approached from the south, with a peak gust of 86 mph recorded later in the day at about 1 PM. A gust to 77 mph was also recorded at another mesonet site (DPLA2) in Dutch Harbor at around 4 PM the same day.

Wider weather episode

A strong front lifted north across the Aleutians and into the Bering Sea between 1/21 and 1/23, producing numerous impacts ranging from strong winds up to 86 mph across the eastern Aleutians to snow and blowing snow farther north across the Pribilof Islands and Kuskokwim Delta. This front was able to interact favorably with Arctic air entrenched farther north across much of western Alaska and the northern Bering, facilitating a tight temperature and pressure gradient that helped to drive the strong winds and snow/blowing snow observed with this system as it progressed north.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1099812. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.