Alaska faces one of its worst storms ever, forecasters say

CNN Blog ^ | November 8th, 2011 | Brad Lendon

[hattend]

Winds near hurricane force of 74 mph were expected to generate seas as high as 25 feet in the northern Bering Sea, forecasters said. The winds were expected to raise sea levels as much as 9 feet in the Norton Sound. Those levels combined with the high waves were expected to cause significant coastal erosion and major flooding. The winds may also push sea ice on shore, adding to the dangers, NWS forecasters said.

[hattend]

The closer the lines, the badder the mamma jamma. :-)

I’m lucky, I get off my midshift here at King Salmon Weather station in an hour, I can watch the mweaker part of the storm go through here from the comfort of my bedroom window.

You couldn’t pay me enough to be a Bering Sea fisherman in the winter.

[Thunder90]

[HereInTheHeartland]

I wonder if this be heading into the mainland US? Looks like a really powerful low pressure system.

[Jack Hydrazine]

That’s why I call these strong, low-pressure systems that develop at such a high latitude, “polarcanes”!

Need to develop a list of names for those particular type of storms. Maybe I’ll head over to GoogTube and check out the Top 60 Ghetto Names for some inspiration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCdmiZyyGjQ

I think I’ll call this one Polarcane Deedra! LOL!

[hattend]

Looking at my long range progs here, the main storm will dissipate over the Chukchi Sea in the north part of Alaska. A weak low pressure center will form along a remnant of a frontal boundary in the Gulf of Alaska and this low will move toward Vancouver on Saturday, through the Pacific Northwest on Sunday and be in the upper midwest by Tuesday.

Rain, wind and snow, coming your way! Just nothing like this main storm.

[stormer]

It's a bit odd that this made the local news sites here in Seattle; not often we get stories like this. Now is the time of year when the Bering Sea and gulf really start cranking up and the jet sends them our way, but I don't recall anything quite like this. The low that is dominating is just over 28 inches, so that's comparable to an Atlantic hurricane - I guess I would expect higher winds than 74. My dear old dad was in a Bering Sea storm back in the day when winds were approached 200 mph, enough to strip the paint off his ship.

[ken5050]

And pray for all the Coast Guards who HAVE to go out in these conditions to try and (hopefully) save lives...

[HereInTheHeartland]

Good info; thanks.
It seems like we get some storms here that form in that area.

[hattend]

The forecast is for 38 foot seas in the fishing grounds just north of here. That’s like a 4 story building. Those are the average heights...

Since it’s only supposed to last for the next 12 to 18 hours I would guess even the Time Bandit is seeking harbor.

[hattend]

So far, the Kodiak Coast Guard station is in contact with one trawler and it is making it’s way to safety although slowly. They are talking to the CG at Kodiak every 20 minutes with progress updates.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Head for home!...

[hattend]

I’m looking at the satellite loop of this storm and I just had a chill up my spine.

It’s a scary looking mama! I saw deep storms like this when I was stationed in the Azores. Those were ALWAYS fun. (Weather guy...you know how we are)

[katana]

Have you already used the names (La)Nanook(iqua), (Ka)Balto(sheena), or (Whooda)Sarah(guuuuuurl)? Just asking.

[Jack Hydrazine]

ROFLMAO!!!!
Not yet but I think I should start with Polarcane Whoodasarahguuuuuuurl!
LOL!

[AngelesCrestHighway]

Amen!...

[Hammerhead]

no kidding....I’m ex navy and those Bering Sea boys are crazy IMO.

[hattend]

Fishing vessel just updated Coast Guard Kodiak. They are still making slow progress toward an Alaska Peninsula harbor. No big wind or waves in their area, yet. Captain doesn’t sound too concerned.

[11th_VA]

Dang - this storm is one year late to the day - could have kept Murkowski out of that senate seat ...

[colorado tanker]

Yep, the comments were more of the bad winter weather proves AGW crap. And if you don’t know that you’re an unintelligent denier. It does get old, doesn’t it?

[KC Burke]

Kivalina Alaska is on a barrier island. The weather channel is saying that Hurricane force storm surge may overtop the entire town.

Plug it into Google Maps and you can see where I don’t want to be over the next few days. I understand they aren’t yet iced in with solid ice and therefore the surge will come straight at them I would expect.