High Wind — Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

2025-09-17 · Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Event narrative

COOP observer in Craig and Klawock noted damaging wind in their 8am report on the 17th. Craig Police confirmed that fallen trees caused brown outs in Craig and power outages resulting in a fire in two other communities on Prince of Wales Island between the hours of 4am and 8am AKDT. There was also a report of roof damage in Craig. Peak winds measured in Craig was 57mph at 424am AKDT.

Wider weather episode

A storm force low developed and pushed into the eastern Gulf of Alaska the evening of Tuesday 9/16/2025 through Wednesday 9/17/2025, bringing widespread strong to high winds to the panhandle. Winds surged northward through the inner channels as the low center tracked closer to the coast and jumped inland. The Juneau Airport Wind System (JAWS) was lit up all day due to wind shear and flights were cancelled. Cruise ships via the USCG changed plans and stayed the night in ports before onset of winds and missed their next 1 or 2 ports of call. There were numerous reports of localized damage to siding and roofs.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1295680. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.