Please keep our friends in Western Alaska in your thoughts, prayers

[Blue_In_AK]

or whatever good vibe you can send. They're about to get hit with a superstorm, and with many of the west coast villages already in trouble from erosion, there could be some serious issues out there.

http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/16327367/article-Western-Alaska-residents-brace-as-dangerous-storm-nears-coast--?instance=home_news_window_left_top_2

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - An unusual Bering Sea storm packing hurricane-force winds and 35-foot waves - a type of storm not seen for decades in Alaska - moved rapidly Tuesday toward the western Alaska coastline.

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

The wind and waves had started picking up by late morning, said Scott Johnson, 28, a Nome banker, prompting some people to evacuate inland to stay with friends or family in case predictions for a big ocean wave surge prove to be true.

"The waves are starting to go up against our seawall," he said from his second-story apartment that sits on the ocean.

<snip>

Smaller communities that are vulnerable to storm erosion were of particular concern, especially the village of Kivalina, already one of the state's most thr eatened communities because of erosion.

Zidek said Kivalina has emergency operations plans in place.

Brown said the state emergency coordination center and the National Weather Service were in contact with emergency personnel in numerous communities. Another conference call was planned for Tuesday afternoon.

"Everybody is aware that the storm is coming," he said.

Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Western Alaska residents brace as dangerous storm nears coast

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Holy shit

I will...hope search rescue is ready.

For Californians a superstorms could kill more than the big one, for perspective.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. k&r

[etherealtruth]

3. Definitely in my thoughts

[kestrel91316]

4. There isn't much to Nome to begin with:

[Blue_In_AK]

5. I've been out there three times now

for the finish of the Iditarod. It's a great little town. I hope everyone will be okay.

If you want to see some pics of what Nome looks like in March, I've got a couple galleries at my website

http://northernvisions.smugmug.com/Vacation/Theres-No-Place-Like-Nome/7808721_bDJhx3#505531056_EUw7Z

http://northernvisions.smugmug.com/Vacation/Nome-Again-Nome-Again-Jiggity/11791256_h9WDQc#832796130_ojocT

I've experienced their "regular" storms. I can't even imagine what this will be like.

[progressoid]

16. Wow, nice photos.

I've always wanted to get up to AK (but not in a monster storm). Such beauty.

[Blue_In_AK]

21. You owe it to yourself to make the trip.

There's no place like Alaska. Put it on your bucket list. :)

[Sherman A1]

26. Great Pics!

I hope folks can stay safe!

[Gormy Cuss]

6. I hope that the damage is minimal and that no lives are lost.

Monster storms and coastal communities are a bad mix.

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Many of these people rely on the sea

for their subsistence. It's an ancient way of life, but I think the global climate change is taking a toll.

[roguevalley]

8. many of the people live in flimsy houses that stand on stilts due

to the permafrost in that part of the woods. Imagine a super storm with a house made from wood and tar paper. We just had a howler and I was out of electricity for two days. Nearly froze to death. I will hold good thoughts for them. I just hate this, Blue.

[Scuba]

9. Hey, he was dumb enough to move to Fairbanks, he said he likes bad weather....

... just kidding. Luck to all Alaskans.

[Fire Walk With Me]

10. I hope everyone and everything is okay :(

[Horse with no Name]

11. How horrible

Keep us posted. Prayers to all out that way.

[Blue_In_AK]

12. 948 mb, stretching from Nome to the end of the Aleutians,

over 900 miles. Emergency preparations are in place.

[Horse with no Name]

14. I can't even fathom

a superstorm.
I have only read about them.:(

[Ichingcarpenter]

17. 948 mb..... that's a nasty storm

I was once at sea in the North Atlantic on a freighter in a winter storm but those numbers and breath of your storm is frightful.

I hope all sailers have reached a safe harbor.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. I'm very concerned for the people out there.

It's a monstrous storm, and as the Yahoo article I just posted states, there is very little sea ice this year to blunt the force. Some of these villages could be destroyed.

[Ichingcarpenter]

20. Many costal villages are already affected by rising polar melt plus

the combination of Arctic being almost ice free this time of year gives a double whammy to the damage this storm could bring.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. Updates at the Anchorage Daily News

http://www.adn.com/2011/11/08/2160346/powerful-storm-aims-at-western.html

Evacuations have begun in some Alaska coastal communities, including Nome (see below), ahead of a powerful storm that's moving across the Bering Sea toward the western Alaska coast. The storm, packing hurricane-force winds, has the potential for coastal flooding, extensive beach erosion and serious damage, according to the National Weather Service.

"This will be extremely dangerous and life threatening storm of an epic magnitude rarely experienced," the Weather Service said in a bulletin earlier today.

For the latest National Weather Service warnings and advisories, click here. http://www.arh.noaa.gov/

We'll be posting updates here through the day. Click here for the latest NWS warnings and advisories. If you're experiencing the storm, we'd like to hear from you. Email reporter Kyle Hopkins at [e-mail] or call 1-800-478-4200 ext. 334.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6: 10 p.m. update: Message for Kotzebue: Stay indoors for the next two days

In Kotzebue, the hub city for a collection of largely Inupiat villages in northwest Alaska, the city and borough planned to urge residents tonight to stay inside, acting city manager Keith Greene said. "One of our concerns up here is people walking through the snow and getting lost."


Even during garden-variety storms, winds and blowing snow can blind travelers on the outskirts of the city. The mega storm is expected to whip gusts as fast as 90 to 100 mph, Greene said. The message for Kotzebue residents will be "stay indoors, don't leave home for the next couple days," he said.


-- Kyle Hopkin / adn.com

<snip - lots more scary reports>

[ellisonz]

15. Good luck to Western Alaska!

:grouphug:

[Blue_In_AK]

18. Yahoo report

http://news.yahoo.com/alaska-braces-epic-storm-evacuations-begin-020349170.html


This article describes how the lack of sea ice, which in years gone by would have blunted a storm like this, will serve to create more danger for the people in this storm's path.

<snip>

"This will be an extremely dangerous and life threatening storm of an epic magnitude rarely experienced," the service said in a special warning message.

<snip>

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, Brown 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, Colorado.

"Forty years ago, a big storm like this would come through and the sea ice would act as sort of a buffer," said Mark Serreze, director of the Snow and Ice Data Center.

"The Bering Sea has and always will have these strong storms. What is different now is their potential destructiveness as you lose the sea ice cover," he added.

<snip>

I'm very worried for the people out there in their little wooden houses. This is extremely scary.

[Ichingcarpenter]

22. Obama To Expand Drilling Off Alaska

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration on Tuesday announced its five-year offshore drilling plan, which includes an emphasis on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, continuing the administration's policy of expanding domestic production of energy.



Environmental activists immediately criticized the proposal as lacking proper safety protocol.

"Congress has failed to pass a single law to better protect workers or the environment," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council in a statement. "Industry has not invested sufficiently in developing the technologies needed to prevent future disasters."

Beinecke also added that now is not the time to open up vulnerable environmental areas to energy production.



"Today, the Gulf region is still struggling to rebuild. This is not the time to put the region at greater risk," she said.



"Nor is it the time to open the doors to drilling in the treacherous and remote Arctic, which is more than a thousand miles from the closest clean-up crew and home to pristine habitat for a range of endangered species."



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/08/obama-alaska-gulf-drilling_n_1082191.html


This storm should be a wake up call

[Blue_In_AK]

23. Yes, it should be.

I was thinking about this very news story when I was posting about the storm. It's simply idiotic to think about drilling out there. There aren't even any roads, and like they say, the Coast Guard is over 1,000 miles away in Kodiak. And if there were a spill under the ice in the deep winter, the Coast Guard couldn't get to it anyway.

[Tsiyu]

24. Kick

kick to keep this up top


keep us posted all and

good luck and warm toes

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

25. Many Blessings on you all, keep warm.

I read another post about the storm, and sent email to several friends about it. Best Wishes, ADW

[Blue Owl]

27. Be safe Alaska

:kick:

[Marrah_G]

28. I hope you are safe too

that storm looks scary as hell.

[grasswire]

29. updates?

We care.