Coastal Flood — Northern Arctic Coast, Alaska

2022-10-06 to 2022-10-07 · Northern Arctic Coast, Alaska

Event narrative

Water levels at Utqiagvik saw a quick rise early in the morning hours on the 6th, with the water level peaking around 4 feet above the normal high tide line the afternoon of the 6th. Water levels slowly receded on the 7th. A primary section of the community berm was breached enough to allow ocean water to inundate some small businesses and cut off access to main areas of Utqiagvik.

Wider weather episode

On October 5th, 2022 a strong area of low pressure moved over far eastern Russia, reaching the Chukchi Sea late in the evening on the 5th. The low strengthened to 955 millibars as it passed over the Wrangel Island in the early morning hours on the 6th of October. The low slowly moved to the northwest and weakened as it moved across the Chukchi Sea through the night of October 7th. A front associated with the low passed over St. Lawrence Island on the afternoon of the 5th. This front continued to push east across the Chukchi Sea the night of the 5th and Arctic Coast of Alaska on the 6th. The strongest winds were associated with this front. Winds became more southwesterly behind the front, causing water levels to rise from the Seward Peninsula to Utqiagvik. A second front moved from west to east across the Arctic Coast on the 7th, with the southwest winds shifting to become westerly behind the front.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1060694. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.