A huge super-storm moved into Alaska today. The "snowicane", as some were calling it, is expected to cause massive coastal flooding along western Alaska, including the city of Nome where some homes were evacuated. Sea levels are expected to rise by up to 7 feet. In addition to that, winds are also expected to be very strong with sustained winds at 60mph, and gusts up around 80mph.
Strong low-pressure storms are not uncommon for western Alaska, but it's the timing that makes this one unique. Normally places along the west coast will get well below freezing frost so that a protective layer of ice covers the shore and protects it, but this storm came a bit early. "Because we don't have shore-fast ice this time of year, that's what's significant," he said. "Just hasn't got cold enough yet. We have open water generally until the first of December," explains Scott Berg, a meteorologist in Nome.
The last time forecasters saw a storm of similar strength and timing was in November 1974, when Nome also took the brunt of the storm. Surge from that storm measured more than 13 feet above sea level, which pushed beach driftwood above the level of the previous super storm of its type in 1913.
Sources: Yahoo News, NWS, NOAA
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