Alaska is facing its strongest storm in over a decade – KVIA

By Allison Chinchar and Pedram Javaheri, CNN Meteorologists

All eyes in Alaska will likely be on the remnants of Hurricane Merbok because the system strikes over the southern Bering Sea on Thursday night time — earlier than changing into what’s anticipated to be the strongest storm to affect the state in additional than a decade.

The Nationwide Climate Service in Fairbanks is urging coastal residents to finish preparations for the storm by Friday morning, as situations will start to quickly deteriorate by Friday afternoon.

“That is possible going to be the strongest storm in over a decade, with impacts possible rivaling impacts we noticed in 2011 from what’s known as the Bering Sea Superstorm,” Jonathan Chriest, a meteorologist with the climate service in Fairbanks, advised CNN.

That 2011 Alaskan storm, with wind gusts over 90 mph, left behind a large swath of destruction. Like Merbok, the 2011 system was an extratropical storm. An extratropical storm or cyclone has chilly air at its core — not like a tropical storm or cyclone which has a heat core. Each may cause vital injury from robust winds, heavy rain and storm surge.

“When an enormous storm is available in, we all the time say ‘does it examine to the 2011 storm?’” Chriest advised CNN. “That is the primary storm since 2011 that we now have excessive confidence … will examine impact-wise.”

This week’s storm won’t solely rival the 2011 occasion, however is predicted to succeed in a magnitude not like another for the month of September.

The storm’s central stress, a metric which may point out how a lot wind and storm surge a system can produce, is forecast to drop to a mind-bending 940 millibars — a quantity usually present in Class 3 and Class 4 hurricanes. Typically talking, the decrease the central stress, the stronger the storm.

“In September we’ve by no means had a storm with the central stress within the Bering Sea beneath 960 millibars,” Chriest mentioned.

On Friday, the remnants of Hurricane Merbok are forecast to maneuver into the Bering Sea and are forecast to “bomb out.” That course of is also called bombogenesis, referring to a stress drop of 24 millibars in 24 hours or much less. Which means the storm is quickly strengthening and has the potential to trigger vital injury.

The storm has the aptitude to generate main flooding, vital storm surge, 50-foot wave heights and hurricane-force winds.

“Nome-Council Street runs alongside the coast and there’s potential that street could also be washed out. Because it’s September it’s nonetheless looking season, so there’s possible lots of of parents looking within the mountains north of Nome the place Nome-Council Street runs by,” Chriest mentioned.

Chriest mentioned lots of the hunters are off the grid and should not have entry to the most recent storm forecasts.

“Along with coastal flooding, shoreline erosion can be potential,” Eric Drewitz, a meteorologist with the climate service in Anchorage advised CNN.

“Hurricane pressure winds are anticipated within the Bering Sea. The western and central Aleutians are beneath a excessive wind warning for winds of fifty to 70 mph, gusting to 90 mph. The Pribilof Islands are beneath a excessive wind look ahead to winds of fifty to 65 mph, gusting to 85 mph.”

Coastal flood watches have additionally been issued for all coastlines alongside the west coast of Alaska between simply north of the Arctic Circle down by the Kuskokwim Delta coast.

Whereas excessive winds and storm surge are anticipated to be the primary impacts of this storm, rainfall accumulations can’t be ignored. Anchorage has already been exceptionally moist this yr. Actually, it’s on observe for its wettest yr on report.

“Even when no rain fell for (the rest of 2022) they might end within the high 10 wettest years all-time,” the climate service mentioned in a tweet.

Whereas most areas will see round 1 inch of rain with this storm, some areas may choose up as a lot as 2 to three inches by the weekend. Even when Anchorage solely picks up 1 to 2 inches from this storm, it can push this yr into the highest 5 wettest years on report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable Information Community, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Firm. All rights reserved.

CNN Meteorologist Judson Jones contributed to this story