High Wind — Admiralty Island, Alaska

2025-09-26 · Admiralty Island, Alaska

Event narrative

A Marine Exchange of Alaska sensor at the southern tip of Admiralty Island, Point Garner, measured wind gusts in excess of 60mph for several hours, including a peak gust of 65.6kt at 210pm AKDT. It is rare that this marine weather station records winds of this magnitude. The peak wind measured at the Angoon seaplane AWOS was 33kt at 648pm AKDT. A later report from a Marine Exchange employee captured photos of a large blowdown of trees on the northern end of Admiralty Island near Young Bay.

Wider weather episode

An unusually strong fall storm developed and moved northeast into the Gulf of Alaska during the early morning hours of Friday 9/26, with pressure falling to 962mph and with hurricane force winds observed on the south side of the low center. As the system progressed northeastward, winds along the coast from Prince of Wales northward towards Baranof Island increased with damaging winds reported. The system made landfall over the central panhandle Friday afternoon around 4pm, just north of Sitka, near Kruzof Island. Tree fall and damaging winds were also reported in the Petersburg Borough and on Admiralty Island that afternoon.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1295961. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.