Wrangell was whipped by high winds last Friday during a storm which kept most of Southeast Alaska indoors.
Especially at this time of year, the region is no stranger
to severe weather brought on by low-pressure systems, but what made last week’s storm
rare was a contribution of Pacific Hurricane Oho. The tropical storm system was
sustained by warmer than usual waters off the Canadian
coast as it moved northward, joining with a pre-existing system.
A high wind warning by the National Weather Service remained in effect throughout the afternoon, with
sustained winds of 40 miles an hour and gusts of up to 75 mph expected along the outer
coast. Further within the Alexander Archipelago, winds in Wrangell peaked at around 4:00 p.m. with gusts of 29 mph and sustained breezes of 20 mph.
Power to the business district and boatyard went down for about 40 minutes after a pair of fuse cutouts were blown behind Rayme’s and Angerman’s. Electrical superintendent Clay Hammer theorized a wayward piece of sheet metal may have been carried into the line between the two phases by high winds.
A portable shelter at the boatyard was also flattened, but for the most part the primary inconvenience was the
tumbling of garbage bins
emptied at the curbside earlier. Other parts of Southeast came out worse for the weather. In the village of Angoon the storm contributed to the collapse of a beach house on Friday,
according to the Alaska State Troopers. One occupant was injured, and the house was a complete loss.
The storm was at least a brief one, tapering off during the evening. The weather Saturday was more subdued, turning to blue skies and
sunshine much of the afternoon after a soupy morning fog. The clear-up kept participants in the ANB/ANS Grand Camp parade dry, while making the city’s Tax-Free Day a more enjoyable one for shoppers.
The spate of good weather was also brief, with heavy rains and high gusts returning Sunday. Still, it could have been worse.
“It’s a significant system, by all means, but definitely not record-breaking,” explained David Levin, intern
meteorologist with the Weather Forecast Office in Juneau. “We have had some really high rain amounts in Ketchikan,” he noted, with the city absorbing seven inches of rain on Thursday alone.
But unlike the heavy rains in August, which triggered
fatal landslides in Sitka, last week’s storm was preceded by colder, drier weather earlier on, which lessened flooding concerns.
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