A powerful wind storm struck the the Cook Inlet region of Southcentral Alaska from Palmer to Anchorage on October 10th, 2008. Wind speeds up to 100 mph were measured on the Anchorage Hillside with widespread damage to trees and localized structural damage. Aviation operations were severely impacted with several reports of severe to extreme turbulence and extreme low level wind shear. A 747 reported wind shear of 100 kts below 4,000 feet just after takeoff from the Anchorage Airport. The extreme conditions prompted numerous flight cancellations at Anchorage and the diversion of dozens of flights to the Fairbanks Airport.
Downslope and gap wind events are relatively common in the Anchorage area and often produce significant turbulence and wind shear. The October 18th event was one of the most extreme events to hit Anchorage in the last couple decades. Using high resolution output from the WRF model, elements of this wind event will be investigated to determine if the model adequately forecasted indicators to the severity of the event. Various turbulence and wind shear guidance will be generated from the WRF output to judge if this information would have been useful if available to the aviation forecasters at the AAWU prior to the event.