High Wind — Sern P.w. Snd, Alaska

2009-01-15 · Sern P.w. Snd, Alaska

Wider weather episode

A series of intense tropically connected storms moved into the eastern Bering Sea beginning January 13th. The storms pushed the warm tropical air over the existing deep arctic air that had been over Alaska since the end of December 2008. High wind, snow, and freezing rain occurred throughout the south central and southwest regions of Alaska while strong north wind and snow produced blizzard conditions in the Pribilof Islands. Wind at higher elevations of the Chugach Mountains exceeded 120 mph. The upper hillside of the Anchorage area had several spotter reports of wind around 110 mph and wind reached 50 mph in east Anchorage. Freezing rain created chaos across the south central region on the 14th and 15th resulting in many vehicles sliding off the road and numerous roll over accidents. Windows were blown out of a local McDonald's and some vehicles. The rapid warming combined with heavy rain resulted in localized flooding in the Anchorage area, Valdez and Girdwood.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 141239. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.