Winds peak at 92 mph at Cordova Harbor, topping the 80 mph gusts forecasters expected

Winds peaked at 92 mph overnight at Cordova Harbor, the National Weather Service's Anchorage office said Tuesday. That topped the gusts of up to 80 mph forecasters had told the town to expect.

The office issued a high wind warning for Cordova at 2:21 am Tuesday. It called for southeast winds of 20 to 35 mph, with gusts up to 80 mph in town, especially between 2 and 6 am, and up to 60 mph at the airport. Forecasters said the wind could move loose debris, damage property and cause power outages. They urged residents to secure loose objects, prepare for widespread outages and use caution if they had to drive.

The warning was set to run until 9 am, but the office canceled it at 5:56 am. It said the threat of very strong winds had ended, though gusts up to 50 mph would continue through late morning before slowly diminishing.

The storm, a low in the Gulf of Alaska, reached well beyond Cordova. "Easterly winds peaked at 92 mph overnight at the Cordova Harbor along with gusts close to 70 mph across parts of Prince William Sound, 60 mph at Thompson Pass, 50 mph across the lower Matanuska Valley and Nikiski, and over 40 mph around Seward and Kenai," the office said in its forecast discussion. It said the system would keep affecting Southcentral Alaska through Tuesday evening.

A wind advisory for Whittier, Portage Valley and East Turnagain Arm, where gusts of 55 to 70 mph were expected, ran until noon Tuesday. The weather service's Fairbanks office had a high wind warning for Windy Pass in the Northern Denali Borough until 6 pm, with gusts up to 70 mph expected.

Cordova is not connected to the state road system; access is mainly by air and water. A draft City of Cordova Comprehensive Safety Action Plan, prepared by the Alaska Municipal League, says emergency response in town depends heavily on local roads, airport facilities, harbor infrastructure and marine and aviation transportation. The small boat harbor has room for 727 vessels.

The weather service has warned Cordova of damaging wind before. A high wind warning issued Oct. 30 also cited loose debris, property damage and power outages. In April 1999, the weather service's Storm Data publication documented unofficial reports of winds above 80 mph around Cordova. A houseboat in the boat harbor recorded a 67 mph gust in that storm.