Monster 'Snowicane' Hits Alaska
A powerful storm that resembles a hurricane with snow, a "snowicane", continues to pound western Alaska. "The potentially historic 'superstorm'... is making 'landfall' in Alaska today with a pressure equivalent to a Category 4 Hurricane," said AccuWeather.com's Jesse Ferrell.
Part of this fierce storm will dive into the contiguous United States on Friday, once again revving up the Northwest's storm train.
"For people in the Bering Sea region, including shipping and fishing interests, this is considered to be a life-threatening storm situation," warned Accuweather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
The powerful storm is unleashing damaging winds, blizzard conditions, huge waves and coastal flooding. A 7-foot storm surge hit Nome, Alaska with water reportedly reaching the base of buildings. There have also been reports of roofs in Nome being blown off.
One incredibly impressive observation with this storm came from a coastal station that measured ice accretion of 23.5 inches per hour Tuesday night, according to Ferrell, who has more statistics on this historic storm in his blog.
Satellite image of the monster "snowicane" moving into the Bering Sea Tuesday morning. (Courtesy: The National Weather Service - Alaska).
AccuWeather.com International Expert Meteorologist Jim Andrews has never seen worse conditions at the Tin City Military Airport, Alaska, than that was observed overnight Tuesday.
For more than six consecutive hours, persistent Category 1-hurricane wind gusts slammed the military airport. The winds peaked at 85 mph at 4 a.m. EST.
The worst of the storm will continue to pound northwestern Alaska, including Nome, today before shifting to southwestern Alaska tonight.
A piece of the storm will also move into the Gulf of Alaska tonight before delivering a shot of rain and mountain snow to the Alaska Panhandle, including Juneau.
Photo by David Dodman, KNOM Radio Mission: "At Nome's shore on Tuesday night, fiercly churning waves battered - and ultimately, surpassed - the city's high seawall."
The storm will then drop through the Northwest Friday into Friday night with a quick shot of disruptive snow for the mountain passes, low-elevation rain and gusty winds.
Friday's storm will actually mark the start of a parade of Northwest storms.
Numerous storms will follow the first into the Northwest through next week.
The details of each will unfold in the upcoming days, but it appears to AccuWeather.com meteorologists that snow levels will progressively drop as each storm swings through into the middle of next week.
AccuWeather.com meteorologist Heather Buchman also reported on this story.
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|---|---|---|
| High | 107° | Death Valley, CA |
| Low | 28° | Daniel, WY |
| Precip | 3.25" | Buffalo, MN |
WeatherWhys®
Hot weather is already off to an early start this year. Hot air masses form as the strong sun quickly heats the ground. The hot air rises and heats up the air just above the surface. Dry ground heats up more quickly since there is little evaporation of water during the process. Evaporation has a cooling effect.
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