Green | November 08, 2011 | 10 comments

Massive Alaska storm could be one of the worst on record

source: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/11/08/massive-alaska-storm-could-be-one-of-the-worst-on-record/

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JanforGore
Alaskans know all about severe weather, but what could hit tonight and through Wednesday has the National Weather Service in full alert mode.

With blizzard warnings issued for an amazingly wide swath of Alaska’s western coast, officials are warning of major coastal flooding, heavy snowfall and winds up to 75 mph.

As forecasters wait to see if the storm continues to morph into one of the most severe Bering Sea storms on record, officials certainly haven’t downplayed the danger of the situation.

The combination of all the wind, snow and coastal flooding has the National Weather Service warning people that this could turn into a life-threatening situation. “This is an extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm which will be one of the worst on record over the Bering Sea and the west coast,” says the National Weather Service.

With a warning of hurricane-force winds in effect from the Chukchi Sea Coast south to the Kuskokwim Delta area, the wind could send swells as high as 25 feet in the Bering Sea, which has the potential to push sea ice onto shore.

While the marine warnings stretch across almost Alaska’s entire coastline, the expected blizzard conditions could drop well over a foot of snow in a hurry.



Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/11/08/massive-alaska-storm-could-be-one-of-the-wor...
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10 comments // Massive Alaska storm could be one of the worst on record

  • Hardytoo
    • 0
      Hardytoo  

    • (Friday afternoon)
      All of the BC Coast heavily raining (torrential) wind gusts to 70 mph and it's just getting started; (and inland blizzards now, travel is "for necessary only"). The winds began around 2pm (pst) we have trees down, power still on but flickering. Talked with family on eastern side of Island, and up the Coast about 40 miles North of Vancouver) - trees down all over the roads, water bottles filled, firewood inhouse; power intermittent.

      The warning was made last night of "epic storm" to hit here, from AK - we had a bad one five yrs ago - no power for 2 wks, boil water alerts for all of the Coast. We're told it's going to be as bad or worse than that one.
      This is way too early for such a heavy storm here.

    • 7 months ago
  • JanforGore
  • Gravity_Man
  • Scott_Pert
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
  • JanforGore
  • Milieu
  • JanforGore
    • +1
      JanforGore  
    • Image

    • http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45204152/ns/today-weather/t/mph-gusts-sideways-sno...

      More information as the storm moves in.

      "A rapidly intensifying storm was hammering the west coast of Alaska on Tuesday and could become "one of the worst on record" for the region.

      The storm was traveling at 60 mph, said Andy Brown, lead National Weather Service forecaster in Anchorage. It could reach the beachfront city of Nome by late Tuesday, with winds hitting 85 mph.

      The storm was expected to produce a 10-foot surge, forcing dozens of coastal communities to make emergency preparations. Brown advised Bering Sea mariners and people living in coastal communities from Wales to Unalakleet to "prepare for a really nasty storm."

      "It is very dangerous," Brown said. "Everybody is spreading the word to let them know this is a major storm."

      That included the Coast Guard. "We are prestaging helicopters from Air Station Kodiak to parts of Western Alaska in response to severe weather advisories including hurricane force winds and high seas that are forecast all along the west coast of Alaska," said Capt. Daniel Travers.

      The storm, described by Brown as "big, deep, low," was taking an unusual path through the northern and eastern Bering Sea.

      The storm will likely be "life-threatening ... one of the worst on record," the service said.

      "Essentially the entire west coast of Alaska is going to see blizzard and winter conditions: heavy snow, poor visibility, high winds," NWS forecaster Bob Fischer told alaskadispatch.com.

      Posing an additional threat is the lack of sea ice off northwestern Alaska, Brown said. The last time a storm of a similar magnitude was sent in the same northward direction was 1974, but the sea surface was much more frozen then, he said.

      "History tells that the sea ice helps subdue the storm surge," Brown said "With no sea ice there, we could see the full brunt of that 6- to 9-foot storm surge."

      Arctic sea ice this year reached the second-lowest coverage since satellite records began in 1979, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo."

    • 7 months ago
  • JanforGore
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