Western Alaska is being hit with an epic snow storm that made landfall earlier today. It is described as the worst they have experienced in at least 40 years. The ‘snowicane’ has pressure that is equivalent to a Category 4 hurricane. As this storm moves into the Northwest on Friday it will be the start of a ‘parade of storms’ expected to hit the Northwest into next week.
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.
Watch the video below of the Alaska snow storm. Its times like this I’m glad I live in the Southeast! Brrrrr.
