Wind advisory warns of gusts to 45 mph on Prince of Wales Island Saturday night

The National Weather Service in Juneau issued a wind advisory Friday for Prince of Wales Island, warning of east winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts up to 45 mph from 6 pm Saturday until 6 am Sunday.

Forecasters said the gusts could blow around unsecured objects and bring down tree limbs, and a few power outages may result. Winds this strong can make travel difficult, they said, and urged extra caution.

In an update Friday afternoon, forecasters said winds on the island will begin to increase during the day Saturday and reach at least 45 mph in the evening. They said confidence is growing that strong gusts will continue into Sunday.

The weather service also extended the advisory to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and Annette Island. There, southeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 55 mph are forecast from 3 am Sunday to 6 am Monday.

A stronger storm follows close behind. The Juneau office's forecast discussion expects a low pressure system in the mid-960 millibar range to reach Southeast Alaska on Sunday, with winds of 40 to 50 mph forecast south of Port Alexander. Gale-force winds could build seas of 20 to 25 feet in the outer waters. Much of the eastern Gulf of Alaska could see 15 to 20 foot seas moving toward the northern coast, with higher waves possible depending on wind strength. Forecasters said waters along and south of Frederick Sound face the greatest danger Sunday into Monday, with strong gale conditions possible there.

The weather service expects the active fall pattern to continue through at least next Saturday.

The advisory follows a high wind warning for Prince of Wales Island on Nov. 9, with gusts to 60 mph. During that storm, a weather buoy near Cape Suckling was ripped from its mooring and set adrift, the weather service said. Days earlier, a weather service storm report logged gusts of more than 100 mph near Metlakatla on Nov. 5.