Wild Weather in the South

Weather is never very far from the news in a place as big as Alaska, and the more extreme events aren't usually good news.  Yesterday a major Gulf of Alaska storm barreled into a cold air mass and high pressure over southern Alaska, and the results were dramatic: damaging winds in the Matanuska Valley, and a major landslide down south in Wrangell.  Sadly the landslide brought loss of life, and perhaps worse than the 2020 Haines landslide.

ADN news links:

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/mat-su/2023/11/21/most-power-restored-and-roads-cleared-following-mat-su-windstorm/

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2023/11/21/large-landslide-south-of-wrangell-closes-highway-draws-search-and-rescue-team/

The rain in the Southeast doesn't appear to have been particularly unusual for the region; the map below shows 72-hour totals (click to enlarge).  But it was pretty wet earlier in the autumn, so there may have been a compounding risk.  Sitka is in the top 10 for rainfall since September 1.

As for the winds around Palmer and Wasilla, the map below shows how localized the wind storm was in the greater Anchorage area (showing yesterday's peak gusts in mph).

This looks like a great example of channeled downsloping flow from the east, driven by a strong pressure gradient.  The map below shows the sea-level pressure analysis at 3pm yesterday, courtesy of Environment Canada.  Check out that pressure gradient over the southeastern coast of Alaska; high winds were seen throughout the region.