As the powerhouse system approaches Alaska late Friday, roaring south-to-southwesterly winds will slam the state’s west coast. Late Friday morning, winds were already gusting over 60 mph in the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, which are about 300 miles west of mainland Alaska.
Massive amounts of water, shoved north by the high winds, will slosh ashore, raising the ocean as much as a dozen feet and battering vulnerable coastal communities with severe erosion. The storm will probably stall just offshore the Seward Peninsula over the weekend, continuing to push the Pacific toward Alaska’s vulnerable coastline.
“The duration of the high water is quite a bit longer than we often see, so that will lead to a longer duration of high impact surge and waves pounding the coastline,” Ed Plumb, a senior service hydrologist at the National Weather Service’s Fairbanks office, told The Washington Post.
Coastal flood warnings and high wind warnings have been issued, both remaining in effect until late Saturday evening, while storm warnings have been hoisted at sea to warn mariners of extremely dangerous conditions.