High Wind in Lower Matanuska Valley, Alaska

Winds started gusting over 60 mph for the Palmer Airport (PAAQ) at around 6:30 PM AKST February 20. Winds gusted to 76 mph at 7:18 PM the same day. Winds remained gusty into the night with frequent gusts over 75 mph after 9:00 PM. Winds were gustiest from Palmer to the Glenn Hwy/Parks Highway Junction with areas to the west seeing much lower gusts.

The Palmer Police Department mentioned to avoid Evergreen at Palmer Airport Rd as snow drifts were making the roadway impassable. They also requested people stay home until things settle down.

Police Reports:

- 2/20 at 5:15 PM: White out conditions across roads in Palmer near the fairgrounds and the hay flats. Multiple vehicles off the road as the road lines/shoulders are in and out of visibility. A warning should really be put out for road conditions especially as it gets close to dark.

- 2/20 at 9:36 PM: Wind gust of of over 100 mph recorded. Recorded multiple gusts in the 80s on handheld anemometer then it just said HI which likely means the wind was over 100 mph.

An upper level Arctic trough dug through Southcentral Alaska and into the Gulf starting February 19. This caused Arctic air to surge through Southcentral into the Gulf while pressure gradients tightened between a strong ridge in the Bering and a surface low that developed in the Northeast Gulf. These factors led to widespread gusty gap winds in Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island. In addition, the thermal and pressure gradients between the Matanuska Valley and the Copper River Basin strengthened enough to allow for strong, gusty northeast winds in the Matanuska Valley.