“Merbok was a rare and historic storm for the Bering Sea and Western Alaska,” said NWS meteorologist Virginia Rux. “Many of the coastal communities are still recovering, and we are not anticipating any storm like what we just experienced anytime soon.”
After a massive storm brought storm surge and flooding across hundreds of miles of Western Alaska coastline, officials with the National Weather Service say they expect the worst of the wind has passed.
He says Deering water levels should be below the high tide line by Monday morning. Kotzebue water levels peaked early Sunday with water levels expected to stay above high tide into Tuesday afternoon. As for Shishmaref, water levels are trending downward and are expected to be normal by Monday afternoon.
“The good news with this system staying in place longer is that we’re no longer expecting any widespread impacts, or really any impacts in regards to coastal flooding from Point Lay to Wainwright up to Utqiagvik.”