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Wind

Monthly and annual average wind data are available for the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) stations at airport locations. Wind instrumentation is standardized to a height of 10 meters. The period of record is 1996 - 2002 and the averages are based on hourly observations.

Mean wind speed (mph) (1996 - 2002)

LOCATION JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC ANNUAL
Ambler 6.9 8.5 8.2 8.0 6.6 5.4 5.1 5.5 6.3 6.7 6.9 5.9 6.6
Anaktuvuk Pass 9.7 9.1 8.4 8.6 8.6 8.3 7.8 8.7 7.6 8.0 8.7 9.0 8.5
Anchorage 7.3 5.7 7.4 8.1 9.1 8.3 7.8 7.0 7.4 7.0 5.6 6.3 7.2
Aniak 5.5 6.4 6.5 6.6 5.8 4.5 4.1 4.4 4.7 5.6 5.3 4.1 5.2
Annette 9.0 8.9 8.8 7.5 7.7 6.9 6.4 7.2 7.3 8.4 8.8 9.5 8.1
Anvik 7.5 6.9 6.9 5.9 5.0 3.8 3.9 4.7 4.6 5.1 5.6 5.7 5.3
Arctic Village 2.4 2.5 4.2 5.0 6.1 6.7 6.7 6.9 4.9 4.0 2.9 3.1 4.5
Barrow 12.5 13.1 12.7 12.9 12.0 11.4 12.7 13.3 12.2 13.4 14.1 13.0 12.8
Barter Island 10.6 10.0 9.3 9.5 10.6 8.8 10.1 11.1 11.7 12.0 11.9 11.9 10.7
Bethel 14.0 12.1 12.5 12.6 11.1 9.5 9.5 11.0 10.4 11.1 11.5 11.4 11.4
Bettles 4.5 5.2 6.3 6.9 6.7 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.5 5.5 5.1 4.6 5.6
Birchwood 3.3 2.4 3.4 3.5 4.2 3.3 2.5 2.3 2.5 3.2 2.3 3.1 3.0
Buckland 8.2 10.2 7.1 9.4 8.4 8.6 7.5 7.8 7.0 4.8 5.2 6.4 7.5
Cantwell 7.9 6.9 8.3 8.2 8.7 8.6 7.8 7.4 7.2 8.4 6.3 8.2 7.8
Cape Lisburne 13.5 12.8 11.4 10.9 11.3 11.2 13.3 14.0 13.2 15.9 12.6 12.5 12.8
Cape Newenham 15.9 14.5 17.7 14.7 12.3 8.0 9.1 13.6 13.9 14.9 17.4 16.0 13.9
Cape Romanzof 18.5 17.7 17.5 15.5 12.9 11.7 10.0 13.4 13.7 15.0 17.6 17.2 15.0
Chignik 11.3 9.4 11.4 10.7 9.3 7.5 7.0 8.7 10.3 10.8 10.6 13.1 10.0
Cold Bay 16.9 17.3 17.7 17.5 17.0 14.7 14.8 14.8 16.1 16.0 17.6 16.9 16.4
Cordova 5.3 4.9 5.0 5.4 4.7 3.6 2.9 3.3 4.4 4.7 4.1 4.9 4.4
Deadhorse 12.0 11.4 12.2 12.5 12.8 11.9 12.1 11.7 10.6 11.3 11.1 11.5 11.7
Deering 12.7 14.2 10.3 11.0 9.6 9.5 10.2 11.2 10.8 9.8 9.8 11.1 10.8
Delta Junction 13.0 11.8 10.6 9.9 8.7 7.8 6.6 6.8 8.5 8.8 12.8 11.0 9.7
Devils Mtn Lodge 4.7 4.1 5.0 5.8 7.3 6.5 5.8 5.0 4.4 3.8 3.0 3.6 4.8
Dillingham 10.0 9.3 10.2 9.1 7.9 7.3 7.2 7.5 7.9 8.6 9.5 8.9 8.6
Eagle 4.6 3.8 2.7 4.2 4.5 3.7 2.9 2.9 3.7 2.8 3.5 3.2 3.5
Egegik 12.9 13.8 13.1 13.4 11.5 11.1 11.5 11.2 11.6 11.7 11.4 12.6 12.1
Eielson AFB 5.0 4.5 5.9 7.3 7.9 7.0 6.3 5.9 6.0 5.4 4.7 4.5 5.8
Elmendorf AFB 8.1 7.2 8.4 7.9 8.1 7.3 6.9 6.6 7.0 7.6 6.8 7.8 7.5
Emmonak 12.3 12.9 12.0 12.0 10.4 9.1 9.2 10.3 10.0 9.6 11.5 10.1 10.7
Eureka-Skelton 3.5 3.4 4.5 4.9 5.9 7.0 6.4 5.4 4.5 2.9 2.1 2.1 4.4
Fairbanks 1.8 2.1 4.2 5.7 7.0 5.7 5.2 5.3 4.5 3.9 2.3 1.3 4.0
Ft Wainwright 5.3 5.7 7.5 9.0 9.6 8.6 8.2 8.0 7.6 6.6 5.1 5.3 7.5
Galena 4.7 4.5 5.0 6.5 6.2 4.9 5.5 6.4 5.4 5.0 4.2 3.5 5.1
Gambell 25.2 24.7 21.6 17.7 14.7 13.4 13.8 16.3 16.8 19.9 25.2 21.9 19.1
Golovin 13.2 15.6 13.3 11.9 8.2 8.1 10.0 11.7 10.9 10.3 11.0 13.0 11.4
Gulkana 3.6 3.4 5.6 7.7 8.1 7.2 7.2 7.2 6.7 4.4 2.1 2.4 5.3
Gustavus 5.2 4.7 6.1 5.6 5.5 4.2 3.8 4.0 4.9 6.2 4.6 4.9 5.0
Haines 12.5 11.8 11.1 10.1 9.3 7.7 7.6 7.8 9.0 10.5 10.8 12.1 10.0
Healy River 5.8 6.6 6.5 8.3 6.7 5.5 5.7 5.4 6.0 4.5 4.6 4.2 5.7
Homer 6.9 6.2 6.9 7.5 7.6 7.1 6.4 6.2 6.7 6.6 6.3 7.3 6.8
Hoonah 7.2 6.5 6.8 5.4 5.8 4.9 4.3 4.5 4.8 5.3 5.9 6.0 5.6
Hooper Bay 17.3 18.3 16.3 14.3 13.1 12.4 12.1 14.7 14.2 13.4 17.1 15.9 14.9
Huslia 4.7 5.7 5.9 5.9 5.4 4.3 4.1 4.4 4.5 4.6 5.3 4.4 4.9
Hydaburg 8.6 8.2 7.7 7.1 7.5 6.1 6.0 6.9 7.3 8.6 8.4 9.0 7.6
Iliamna 12.0 11.4 11.0 10.4 9.6 9.0 9.0 9.2 10.2 11.1 11.8 11.8 10.6
Juneau 8.7 7.2 8.5 8.1 8.2 6.7 7.0 7.2 8.2 8.6 7.5 8.4 7.9
Kake 7.6 6.7 7.4 6.3 6.1 4.9 4.8 5.2 6.3 7.8 7.3 7.9 6.5
Kaltag 5.0 5.3 7.0 6.3 6.0 5.3 5.0 5.2 4.0 5.0 5.3 5.1 5.3
Kenai 7.9 8.1 9.0 8.4 8.9 8.5 8.3 7.0 7.7 7.8 7.3 7.4 8.0
Ketchikan 8.0 8.2 7.5 7.7 8.2 7.7 7.5 7.9 7.9 8.1 8.1 8.5 7.9
King Salmon 10.0 9.3 10.1 10.7 9.7 8.6 8.6 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.9 8.4 9.2
Kivalina 12.9 14.4 13.4 12.5 10.6 9.9 10.6 14.5 12.6 13.0 12.9 13.6 12.6
Klawok 3.8 3.1 3.7 3.5 4.1 3.8 3.4 3.4 3.2 3.6 3.5 3.6 3.6
Kodiak 12.4 11.6 11.9 11.2 10.0 9.1 7.5 7.9 9.7 11.0 11.1 12.7 10.5
Kotzebue 11.0 12.7 10.5 12.4 9.5 10.3 11.7 12.8 12.0 12.0 13.3 10.4 11.6
Koyuk 9.8 9.2 10.0 9.6 7.8 7.7 7.9 8.9 7.5 7.1 8.5 8.8 8.5
Lake Hood 5.0 3.9 5.3 5.8 6.8 6.4 5.8 5.0 5.5 5.3 4.0 4.4 5.2
McGrath 2.8 2.3 4.1 5.7 6.1 4.9 4.3 4.9 4.8 4.3 2.2 1.7 3.9
McKinley Park 4.7 4.0 5.3 6.0 5.7 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.4 4.7 3.6 3.4 4.5
Mekoryuk 16.3 16.7 15.2 15.7 12.5 10.4 10.1 14.0 13.9 14.8 17.2 15.3 14.4
Merrill Field 3.6 2.8 4.2 4.7 5.7 5.2 4.7 4.0 4.0 4.1 2.6 2.8 4.0
Metlakatla 9.4 8.5 8.8 7.4 7.5 6.2 6.0 6.4 6.4 7.9 9.4 9.7 7.8
Middleton Island 18.1 17.0 15.1 14.1 11.8 10.3 9.1 9.4 12.9 15.5 15.7 17.6 13.9
Minchumina 1.8 1.3 2.5 3.2 3.7 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.3 2.2 1.2 1.3 2.3
Nenana 5.0 4.5 6.1 6.1 6.2 4.7 4.1 4.4 4.9 5.0 4.7 4.8 5.0
Noatak 7.0 8.4 8.2 8.7 7.6 7.3 7.1 8.4 7.6 7.6 7.4 6.5 7.6
Nome 9.8 11.9 9.7 9.9 9.0 8.9 9.7 10.9 9.9 9.0 10.9 9.1 9.9
Northway 0.9 0.9 3.1 5.1 6.6 5.9 5.4 4.9 4.6 3.1 0.8 1.1 3.4
Nuiqsut 9.4 9.1 9.5 11.3 10.6 10.4 10.8 10.5 8.7 10.1 8.2 7.6 9.6
Palmer 6.8 7.2 8.2 9.3 8.4 7.1 6.2 6.0 6.9 5.8 5.9 6.6 7.0
Petersburg 3.4 3.6 4.0 4.2 4.5 3.8 3.0 3.0 3.2 3.9 3.4 4.0 3.7
Point Hope 16.4 15.4 14.2 12.5 11.9 12.4 13.3 15.4 16.1 16.4 17.5 16.2 14.9
Portage 12.8 11.3 10.2 9.6 8.0 8.3 8.6 8.1 9.5 10.4 9.5 10.6 9.8
Red Dog 10.4 13.1 10.7 10.8 9.2 8.6 8.6 10.5 9.4 9.8 9.0 9.8 9.9
Sand Point 13.2 11.4 11.9 11.3 9.7 7.7 7.9 9.2 11.8 13.5 13.1 13.7 11.2
Savoonga 12.6 12.2 12.0 11.5 10.7 9.4 9.7 12.7 12.4 15.5 19.4 13.9 12.7
Selawik 9.0 11.2 9.7 10.6 9.1 9.7 8.6 9.3 8.9 7.8 9.4 8.5 9.3
Seldovia 3.7 3.2 3.8 3.6 4.4 4.2 4.6 4.0 3.6 3.6 2.1 4.1 3.7
Seward 12.0 10.9 9.4 8.8 8.3 6.7 6.0 7.0 7.5 10.3 9.1 12.6 9.0
Shishmaref 13.5 13.5 12.2 12.0 10.1 9.3 12.0 14.3 14.1 14.4 15.8 12.9 12.9
Sitka 9.8 8.8 8.5 7.8 7.5 6.3 6.0 6.3 7.1 9.3 9.4 10.2 8.1
Skagway 14.7 11.9 11.8 9.5 10.4 9.6 9.0 8.3 8.4 9.6 10.4 11.7 10.4
Slana 5.7 4.7 7.2 7.5 8.5 7.5 6.7 6.2 6.0 6.5 4.8 5.9 6.5
Sleetmute 2.3 1.8 2.9 3.4 3.8 2.7 2.4 2.5 2.1 2.2 1.5 1.8 2.4
Soldotna 3.1 2.9 3.5 4.2 4.9 4.5 3.7 3.3 3.4 3.3 2.8 2.7 3.5
St George 20.8 19.8 18.7 17.6 14.6 13.1 11.7 12.5 15.3 17.4 19.3 18.8 16.7
St Mary's 14.1 15.5 14.1 12.6 10.8 9.2 9.1 10.7 10.3 9.9 13.2 11.5 11.7
St Paul 19.0 17.8 16.8 16.2 13.1 12.3 11.5 12.9 14.8 16.0 18.0 17.3 15.4
Talkeetna 5.6 5.2 5.4 4.4 4.9 4.6 4.1 3.2 3.4 3.8 4.4 4.8 4.4
Tanana 5.3 6.3 7.1 6.9 7.0 5.9 5.8 6.0 5.8 5.8 5.5 4.7 6.0
Tin City 25.2 27.0 23.5 19.6 15.0 17.1 14.3 16.1 15.0 15.3 18.0 20.6 18.5
Togiak 12.0 12.3 12.5 12.2 11.1 9.4 10.0 10.9 11.1 10.5 12.3 12.2 11.3
Unalakleet 13.8 16.3 13.7 11.8 8.9 7.6 8.8 10.4 9.5 10.5 14.8 12.2 11.5
Unalaska 12.7 12.1 13.0 12.0 10.6 8.7 7.8 8.6 11.3 12.4 13.1 12.8 11.2
Utopia Creek 5.9 6.5 7.9 6.3 6.4 5.6 5.0 5.1 4.9 5.5 6.0 5.5 5.8
Valdez AP 3.0 2.7 4.2 3.3 4.3 4.3 3.4 2.7 2.4 3.4 2.3 3.3 3.3
Valdez WSO 7.3 5.3 6.4 5.2 5.9 5.9 4.7 4.2 4.0 6.5 6.0 7.5 5.7
Wainwright 10.2 11.4 12.2 12.6 11.3 11.0 11.8 12.6 11.0 12.2 11.4 10.0 11.5
Wasilla 6.2 5.7 7.7 6.1 5.2 4.3 3.9 4.0 4.8 5.9 5.6 5.9 5.4
Whittier 11.4 9.6 9.3 8.4 7.8 6.9 6.0 7.3 8.2 10.3 8.9 11.1 8.8
Wrangell 8.7 8.0 8.5 7.1 6.7 5.1 3.8 4.5 5.9 7.9 8.6 9.3 7.0
Yakutat 5.9 4.9 5.4 5.3 5.6 4.8 4.8 4.8 5.4 5.9 4.3 5.5 5.2

Prevailing wind direction (1996 - 2002)

Prevailing wind is the direction of highest precent frequency. Stations may have close secondary maximum owing to noticable differences from month to month.

LOCATION JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC ANNUAL
Ambler NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE W NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE
Anaktuvuk Pass NE S NNE NE NE NE NE NE NE NE S NE NE
Anchorage N N N S S S S S S N N N N
Aniak N ESE N ESE W SE SE SE ESE ESE ESE N ESE
Annette ESE ESE ESE SE SE SE SE SE SE ESE ESE ESE ESE
Anvik NE NE NNE NNE W W W W W NNE NE NE NE
Arctic Village NE E ENE E E NE WSW WSW NE E E E E
Barrow ENE E E E E E E E E E E ENE E
Barter Island W E W E E E E E E E E W E
Bethel NNE NE NNE N S S S S S N NNE NNE NNE
Bettles N NNW N N N SW S S N N N N N
Birchwood S S SSW W W W W W SSW SSW S S SSW
Buckland WNW E E W WNW WNW SE W SE SE SE E SE
Cape Lisburne E E E E E E SSW SSW E ENE E E E
Cape Newenham ESE ESE ESE N S S S S N N ESE N N
Cape Romanzof NE NNE NE NNE S NNE SSW N N NNE NE N NNE
Chignik W W W W W W W W W W W W W
Cold Bay SE SE SE SE SE SE SE W W N SE N SE
Cordova E E E E E E ENE ENE E E E E E
Deadhorse WSW ENE ENE E E E ENE E E E E WSW E
Deering W E W W W W W SSW SW SW E W W
Delta Junction ESE ESE E S W W W W E E ESE ESE ESE
Dillingham N N N N N S S S N N N N N
Eagle ESE ESE SE SE NE N W ESE SE ESE ESE ESE ESE
Egegik N ESE ESE ESE W ESE SE W W N N N ESE
Eielson AFB S S NNW W W W W W S S S S S
Elmendorf AFB NE N N N W W W W N N NNE NE N
Emmonak ENE ENE ENE N N N S S N N ESE N N
Eureka-Skelton NE NE NE W W WSW WSW W W NE NE NE W
Fairbanks NNE NE NNE N N W W N N N N NE N
Ft Wainwright E E ENE ENE W W WSW E E ENE E E E
Galena N E N N N WSW SW SW E N E E N
Gambell NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE SSW SSW N N N NE NNE
Golovin NW E NW NW NW S S S NNW N N NW NW
Gulkana N N N S S S S S S N N N S
Gustavus SE SE SE SE SE SW SW SE SE SE SE SE SE
Haines WNW WNW WNW E E E E E E E WNW WNW WNW
Healy River SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE SSE
Homer NE NE ENE WSW WSW WSW WSW WSW NE NE NE NE NE
Hooper Bay E E E N N N N W N E E E E
Huslia E E E ENE ENE WNW W W ENE ENE E E E
Hydaburg SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE
Iliamna N E E E E E E E E N N N E
Juneau E E E ESE ESE E E E E E E E E
Kake ESE ESE ESE ESE ESE W ESE ESE ESE ESE E ESE ESE
Kaltag NE NE NE NE SW SW SW SW SW NE NE NE NE
Kenai NNE NNE NNE N SSW SSW SSW S NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE
Ketchikan SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SE SSE SE SE
King Salmon N E E E S S S S N N N N N
Kivalina NNE NNE NNE N N W W N N NNE NNE NNE NNE
Klawok NE NE NE S SW SW SW SW SSW S NE NE SW
Kodiak NW NW NW NW NW E E NW WNW NW NW NW NW
Kotzebue E E E E W W W W E E E E E
Koyuk N N N N N SSW SSW SW N N N N N
Lake Hood N N N S S S S S S N N N N
McGrath W WNW N N W W S S W N N N N
McKinley Park N S N S N N S N N N N N N
Mekoryuk NE ESE ESE W NNW WNW W W NNW N SE N N
Merrill Field NNE N N N W WNW WNW WNW N N NNE NNE N
Metlakatla E E E E SSE WSW S S S SSE E E SSE
Middleton Island ESE ESE E E E W E W E E E E E
Minchumina ENE ENE ENE E WSW WSW WSW WSW WSW ENE ENE ENE ENE
Nenana E E ENE E E W SW E E ENE ENE ENE E
Noatak N NNE NNE NNE N S S N N N N NNE N
Nome E E E E E WSW WSW WSW N N E N E
Northway WNW E WNW WNW WNW WNW WNW WNW WNW WNW WNW WNW WNW
Nuiqsut W ENE ENE ENE E E ENE W ENE E ENE NE ENE
Palmer N N N SE SE SE SE N N N N N N
Petersburg WSW ESE WSW E E ENE ENE E E ESE WSW WSW E
Point Hope N N N N N N S N N E NNE N N
Portage WNW ESE ESE ESE ESE ESE ESE ESE ESE SE SE WNW ESE
Sand Point N SSE N N N S S S N N NNW N N
Savoonga E E E E E E W W N N E NE E
Selawik ENE ENE ENE W W W W W ENE ENE ENE ENE ENE
Seldovia N N N S S S S S S S S S S
Seward N N N N S S S N N N N N N
Shishmaref N N E E NNW W N N N E E E N
Sitka ESE ESE ESE ESE ESE SW SW ESE E ESE ESE E ESE
Skagway NE NE NNE SSW SSW SSW SSW SSW SSW SSW NNE NE SSW
Sleetmute NW NW NW ESE W SE ESE ESE ESE WNW WNW NW NW
Soldotna E E E E W W W W E E E E E
St George NNE E E NNE E NE W S W NNW NNW E NE
St Mary's E E E E N S S S E E E E E
St Paul N N E N N N W SSW WSW N N N N
Talkeetna NNE N NNE N N S S S N N N N N
Tanana E E E E ESE WSW W W E E E E E
Tin City N N NNE NNE NNE NNE SSW NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE NNE
Togiak N N N N N SSW S S N N N N N
Unalakleet E E E E E NNW W E E E E E E
Unalaska SE SE SE N SE E E E SSW NNW NNW SE SE
Utopia Creek ENE ENE ENE E E NW NW W ENE ENE ENE ENE ENE
Valdez AP E E E W W W E E E E E E E
Valdez WSO ENE ENE ENE ENE WSW WSW WSW WSW WSW ENE ENE ENE ENE
Wainwright E E E E E E W E E E E E E
Wasilla ENE ENE ENE E E S ENE ENE ENE ENE ENE ENE ENE
Whittier ENE S S S S S S S ENE SSW S SSW S
Wrangell E ESE E SE SE W W SE ESE ESE E E E
Yakutat E E E E SE E E E E E E E E