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High Wind — Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys, Alaska

2005-03-20 to 2005-03-21 · Lower Koyukuk Middle Ykn Vlys, Alaska

$150K

Property damage

56 MG

Magnitude

Wider weather episode

Strong high pressure over eastern Siberia on the 18th moved to the eastern Arctic Ocean through the 20th and strengthened to 1055 mb. this created a strong pressure gradient over northern Alaska with cold air and strong gusty northeast winds spreading southwest over the state. High Winds or Strong Winds occurred at: Zone 207 - Point Hope AWOS highest gust 54 knots (62 mph).Zone 210 - Skookum Pass ATLAS MesoNet Site peak gust 65 knots (74 mph). Zone 211 - Golovin AWOS highest gust 59 knots (69 mph). Nome peak wind was 43 knots (49 mph).Zone 216 - Koyukuk Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) peak gust 56 knots (65 mph); Huslia AWOS peak gust 54 knots (62 mph). Also Kaltag ASOS Peak Wind 48 knots (55 mph) and Galena highest gust 34 knots (39 mph). In the village of Nulato, on the night of the 20th a tree fell onto a power line which pushed the line onto the city building which started a fire, destroying the city building. The building contained most of the administrative and financial records of the village, along with archives of irreplaceable documents and photos. Estimated loss is $150,00 Zone 220 - Hodzana Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) peak gust 54 knots (62 mph). Also Seven Mile RAWS peak gust 50 knots (58 mph). Strong winds producing heavy blowing snow over Eagle Summit and Twelvemile Summit of the Steese Highway forced the Alaska Department of Transportation to close the highway. In addition strong winds and blowing snow were also reported on portions of the Dalton Highway with Travel Advisories issued.Zone 221 - Pilot on ground at West Twin Lakes estimated wind gusts near 60 mph. The State of Alaska Department of Transportation posted travel Advisory for the Elliot Highway over the summits due to strong winds and low visibility in blowing snow. Zone 222 - Caribou Peak Remote Automated Weather Station (RAWS) peak gust 50 knots (58 mph). Also Fairbanks ASOS peak wind 33 knots (38 mph). Winds toppled trees most notably in the North Pole area, where a chain link fence was damaged (estimated $500) from a falling tree, and a minivan was totaled when an 80-foot spruce tree fell onto it (estimated $6500).Blizzard conditions:Like occurred at Cape Romanzof (Zone 214). AWOS highest gust 50 knots (58 mph).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5442123. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.