High Wind in Matanuska Valley, Alaska

High Wind February 5, 2015 – February 6, 2015 · Matanuska Valley, Alaska

75 mph

Measured gust (65 kt)

What the National Weather Service wrote

At station PAAQ, Palmer, wind gusts passed the 60 mile-per-hour mark beginning around 2 p.m. AKST February 5. Winds continued to gust above warning criteria for the next two hours. The peak gust of 75 miles-per-hour occurred at 10 p.m. February 6.

DOT station GTFA2 measured a peak gust of 71 mph.

A unoccupied single engine plane was damaged at the Palmer airport.

The wider storm

On February 5 and 6, an Arctic high pressure ridge extended from the Alaska Interior into the Canadian Yukon at around 1040 millibars. This ridge, combined with a low pressure system around 966 millibars located in the Eastern Gulf of Alaska created a strong pressure gradient over Prince William Sound and the northern extent of Cook Inlet.

Gap winds developed and damaged vessels in harbor and buildings in the region.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event 556798. Narratives are written by the National Weather Service forecast office that issued the report.

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