Remnants of Typhoon Merbok Impacting Alaska this Weekend
The remnants of Typhoon Merbok, otherwise known as Post Tropical Cyclone Merbok, are working across the Bering Sea as we speak and could bring historic flooding and storm surge to the coastal regions of Alaska this weekend. The entire western coast of Alaska is under a Coastal Flood Warning as a combination of historical storm surges combined with high tide could result in several feet inundating coastal regions through Sunday. Cities like Nome, Alaska for instance could see water levels 8 to 11 feet above the normal high tide line. The worst of the flooding is expected to be Saturday morning into Saturday evening.
Additionally, several locations are under High Wind Warnings, where sustained winds of 40-50 mph with gusts up to 80 mph are expected along with several inches of rain are possible as this storm works across the region.
Why is this storm historical?
The Remnants of Merbok are historical for a number of reasons, the first being the fact a hurricane force Low-pressure system is tracking through the Bering Sea in September. Only three other hurricane-force storms have ever tracked into the Bering Sea during the month of September. The usual track for a system such as this during this time of year is usually a little more show through the Gulf of Alaska and not through the Bering Sea. This is also the deepest low pressure to ever track through the Bering Sea with a pressure of 937 MB. The previous record was 960 MB.
We will continue to update this article throughout the weekend with additional information as it comes available. We also have a source in Nome, Alaska, when possible, will be sending us further updates from the area.
Map from the National Weather Service of the weather alerts in place from the remnants of Typhoon Merbok.