Alaska Weather Warning: Merbok-Hit Areas Brace For New Storm; Could Cause Coastal Flooding, Erosion

A new storm has set its eyes on Alaska and forecasters are worried about how it will affect areas that were devastated by Typhoon Merbok last month. Flood and wind watches have been issued as the state prepares for the storm.

A deep low pressure is expected to move over the Chukchi Sea on Thursday and into the Arctic Ocean on Friday, the Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said in its seven-day Hazards Outlook report.

The agency further noted that high winds are expected Thursday, through Friday in mainland Alaska. Heavy precipitation is expected to start in the mainland, as well as portions of the Alaska Panhandle by Friday.

The storm is expected to "bring some strong southwesterly, south winds into areas – basically areas from Norton Sound north to Point Barrow," National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Scott Berg told local radio station KTOO.

Apart from minor coastal flooding, "there could be quite a bit of erosion," Berg noted.

The biggest concern for forecasters is how the storm could affect areas that were already damaged by the remnants of Typhoon Merbok last month. In the Norton Sound and Point Barrow areas, the communities' "defenses are down," Berg explained.

Even minor coastal flooding in these areas could lead to "erosion issues that will be a bigger impact than what they normally would be," Berg said.

The new storm is "one of the strongest storms (in terms of pressure) on record in the NW Chukchi Sea," said Rick Thoman, a climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP).

Last month, President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Alaska and ordered federal assistance for the recovery efforts.

As the residents continue to rebuild from the devastation, the NWS warns that the incoming storm should "be taken seriously."

Coastal flood watches effective from late Wednesday night through Friday:

• Western Arctic Coast
• Chukchi Sea Coast
• Baldwin Peninsula and Selawik Valley
• Northern Arctic Coast

High wind watches effective from Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon:

• Northern Brooks Range
• Chukchi Sea Coast
• Lower Kobuk and Noatak Valleys
• Western Arctic Coast

High wind watch is effective from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday evening:

• St. Lawrence Island and Bering Strait Coast

The storm that hit Alaska from Sept. 15 to Sept. 20 were remnants of Typhoon Merbok, which was considered a "rare and historic" event by weather experts. The week-long storm caused massive destruction to infrastructure. It toppled buildings and damaged village runways, as well as telecom outages.