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High wind warning in effect for western Kenai Peninsula

The view of mountains in Kachemak Bay State Park from the Homer Spit on Oct. 14, 2023. Jet skis are banned again on the waters of Kachemak Bay.
Jamie Diep
/
KBBI
The view of mountains in Kachemak Bay State Park from the Homer Spit on Oct. 14, 2023.

A high wind warning is in effect on the southern Kenai Peninsula from this afternoon to tomorrow morning.

National Weather Service lead forecaster Pamela Pietrycha says the winds are coming from a cold front moving north into the Gulf of Alaska.

“We'll see those stronger winds start moving to the north as the associated cold front pushes north. And as a result, those winds in Kachemak Bay and the southern part of the Kenai Peninsula will increase in response to that,” she said.

The National Weather Service reports there will be northeast 30 to 40 mph winds in the Homer area, with gusts as high as 75 mph in higher elevations.

In Kachemak Bay, there will be four to eight foot seas near the Homer Spit, and 13 foot seas in the outer bay.

Pietrycha says higher elevations north of the area will experience stronger winds as well.

“Our main concern will be along the Gulf, and then the Northern Gulf Coastal communities into Prince William Sound area,” she said, “so most impacts will be felt on the southern and eastern side of the Kenai and then up by Cordova area and those coastal areas up there.”

She says the weather service recommends securing loose objects outdoors like lawn furniture, trampolines and tarps.

Homer Electric Association also warned of potential power outages on social media due to the strong winds.

Strong winds are also causing power outages on the central Kenai Peninsula.

As of about 3:30 p.m. on Friday, more than 1,300 Homer Electric Association customers were without power near the Swanson River Oilfield, Halbouty Road and South Miller Loop. The cooperative also reported smaller outages in Soldotna and along Kalifornsky Beach Road.

In a message shared with members on social media, the association said “We appreciate your understanding and patience during this time. Rest assured, we will keep you updated as we work to restore power to our members.”

The cooperative is sharing outage updates on its Facebook page, as well as on its outage webpage.

Visit the National Weather Service website for the most up to date forecast information for your area.

Jamie Diep is a reporter/host for KBBI from Portland, Oregon. They joined KBBI right after getting a degree in music and Anthropology from the University of Oregon. They’ve built a strong passion for public radio through their work with OPB in Portland and the Here I Stand Project in Taipei, Taiwan.Jamie covers everything related to Homer and the Kenai Peninsula, and they’re particularly interested in education and environmental reporting. You can reach them at jamie@kbbi.org to send story ideas.