Alaska Storm
his image provided by the NOAA-19 satellite's AVHRR sensor, shows the storm bearing down on Alaska in this infrared imagery. NOAA

A very powerful epic storm is heading toward the west coast of Alaska, the National Weather Service has warned.

The weather service has warned people that it could be one of the worst on record for the state.

This will be an extremely dangerous and life-threatening storm of an epic magnitude rarely experienced, said the NWS in a special warning message.

It covers 750 to 1,000 miles almost in breadth. These things get named hurricanes down south and get a category. It's that magnitude, said Jeff Osiensky, NWS regional warning coordination meteorologist.

Nome, Bethel and Kotzebue are the most threatened cities coming in the way of the storm. Tuesday, the storm reached Nome with 60 mph winds and snow. The storm caused a steep rise in sea levels where water is expected to rise another 7 feet overnight.

Heavy rain, winds and flooding are also expected Wednesday morning.

Track the storm advisory and its movement here.

Storm Storm