A powerful storm is expected to develop over the North Pacific tonight and rapidly intensify as it tracks to the southwest coast of Alaska late Monday night. There is some uncertainty in the exact track and strength of this storm... so it is too early to identify all of the detailed impacts from this storm. There is enough confidence however to begin to highlight the most likely impacts. Widespread strong winds and heavy rain are likely across much of southwest and southcentral Alaska as this storm moves through the area Monday night and Tuesday. The strongest winds are expected to occur along western Turnagain Arm and higher elevations of Anchorage and Eagle River. There is potential for some of these stronger winds to move into lower elevations of the Anchorage bowl along with portions of the Matanuska Valley. A high wind watch has been issued for all of Anchorage for late Monday night through Tuesday afternoon to highlight this possibility. The fact that this is an early season storm means the impact of heavy rain and strong winds could be greater than during the middle of winter. The ground is not frozen and there are still leaves on the trees in most areas... which could lead to downed trees and power outages if these winds do occur. The heavy rain accompanying this storm will cause rises on rivers and streams. People engaged in outdoor activities should remain alert for rising water levels and rapidly deteriorating conditions as this storm moves in. Lastly... strong winds and high seas on the back side of the storm system has potential to produce minor coastal flooding in the Kuskokwim Bay area. This particular threat is heavily dependent on the storm track and will be closely monitored as the storm gets closer.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Oct 2013 21:57:58 +0000
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