High Wind — St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

2026-01-05 · St. Lawrence Island, Alaska

Event narrative

The Gambell AWOS (PAGM) site first met high wind criteria on 1/5/26 at 04:42L reporting 49 mph sustained winds, gusting at 59 mph. The AWOS site reported a peak observation at 04:56L on 1/5/26 of sustained winds at 47 mph, gusting to 63 mph. Wind gusts were in the upper 50 mph range for over 10 hrs as of 15:00L on 1/5/26.

Wider weather episode

A low pressure system in the southern Bering Sea moved northeast over the Aleutian Islands bringing widespread snow showers and gusty north/northeast winds to much of southeast Alaska and parts of the Western Interior. The front on the leading edge of the Bering Sea low initiated the first waves of snowfall in the southeast Interior, while gusty north/northeast winds strengthened on the western side of the low. Falling snow and gusty winds created long-lasting blizzard conditions to coastal areas along the Lower Yukon. The strongest winds settled over St. Lawrence Island and along the Norton Sound coastline as the low moved further inland.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1313598. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.