High Wind — Central Aleutians, Alaska

2026-01-04 to 2026-01-05 · Central Aleutians, Alaska

Event narrative

The Adak ASOS (PADK) had a max wind gust of 70 mph at 10:25 AM AKST January 4 before the wind sensor went out. Another observation site on Adak Island had multiple instances of greater than 70 mph wind gusts between 9:48 AM and 8:12 PM AKST on January 4. The highest wind gust for this site was 80 mph at 5:06 PM AKST January 4.

Wider weather episode

A potent hurricane force North Pacific Low moved into the Bering on January 4. This, combined with potent shortwave troughs and cold air advection behind the low allowed for gusty, westerly to southwesterly winds across the Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula. The Eastern Aleutians and Alaska Peninsula saw strong, gusty winds for a time. As the low moved eastward, heavy snowfall and blizzard conditions were observed over the Southwest mainland.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1312124. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.