Coastal Flood in Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley, Alaska

A 984 mb low near Point Hope at 2100AKST on the evening of the 24th weakened to 991 mb between Point Hope and Point Lay at 0300AKST on the morning of the 25th. The low drifted to near Barrow and weakened to 998 mb by 2100AKST on the evening of the 25th. A west to southwest winds increased to 25 to 40 mph late on the evening of the 24th and continued into the early morning hours of the 25th. It was estimated that seas may have built as high as 13 feet in the sound and that the water levels rose nearly 10 feet above normal. The water levels were reported to be the highest since 1989. The airport runway which is about 10 feet above the lagoon was nearly inundated with water, and several feet of water poured into areas around numerous homes. Most of the homes are built on pilings which prevented water from entering the structures. There were reports that several small boats were sunk and there was major coastal erosion. Waves crashed over the seawall, but the water level did not rise to the point where the seawall was under water.