High Wind — Kodiak Peninsula, Alaska

2021-04-08 · Kodiak Peninsula, Alaska

Event narrative

The Gull Island weather station located in the Kodiak Boat Harbor and run by the Alaska Marine Exchange, reported a wind gust of 86 mph around 3 PM AKDT. The Kodiak Airport (PADQ), located south of the Gull Island station, had its strongest wind of 64 mph at 7:24 PM AKDT. Some damage to floats around the harbor was reported the the Harbormaster.

Wider weather episode

A low tracked across the eastern Bering Sea and intensified as it crossed the Aleutian Range and into the northern Gulf of Alaska. In the peak of the storm the low was just southeast of Prince William Sound at around 982 mb with the high near the Yukon Delta at 940 mb. In addition to the strong pressure gradient, unseasonably cold air was associated with this system enhancing the winds.

On April 10, a new low in the Bering Sea sent a front over Southwest mainland Alaska which brought blizzard conditions to the Kuskokwim Delta as the new front pushed into the arctic airmass.

While temperatures were nothing nearing a warning level, many locations across Southern Alaska (and the Interior) saw daily record low temperatures with the high pressure.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 948881. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.