High Wind — Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

2026-01-09 · Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Event narrative

A trained spotter's home weather station in Hydaburg measured a peak gust of 65.9mph on the 9th. Times are estimated based on other locations on Prince of Wales and Annette Island. The Hydaburg AWOS was down at the time. Peak wind at the Klawock Airport (39mph) was measured at 551pm. The highest sustained wind measured by the Kasaan FAA webcam was 31mph at 10am.

Wider weather episode

An atmospheric river brought snow followed by high winds, warming temperatures and heavy rain to the panhandle January 8th and 9th. A low pressure center developed along a triple point front as it tracked NE across the western Gulf of Alaska on the 9th. The low center deepened to 960mb as it approached the northern Gulf and the frontal system brought a period of high winds to the central and southern panhandle. This system brought with it heavy snow across the north, followed by a significant warm-up, heavy rain, localized flooding due to previous heavy snow blocking drainages, and avalanches. The flooding falls into the advisory level, but the rain was an additional impact due to the added weight of the snow on structures. Disaster declarations were expanded to more communities across the northern panhandle after this storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1317505. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.