Storm Surge in Alaska, September 12 to 13, 2002

Name: Storm Surge in Alaska, September 12 to 13, 2002
Start: 2002-09-12T13:00
End: 2002-09-13T13:00
Location: Alaska

September 12 to 13, 2002 · NWS AFC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A significant Bering Sea storm moved into Norton Sound Thursday night. Strong onshore winds combined with maximum astronomical tides to produce the potential for coastal flooding as early as Thursday afternoon.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $3,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS AFC wrote it up.

A significant Bering Sea storm moved into Norton Sound Thursday night. Strong southerly winds preceded the associated front, while strong westerly winds were observed along the 'back side' of the low.Strong onshore winds combined with maximum astronomical tides to produce the potential for coastal flooding as early as Thursday afternoon. The coastal flood threat continued into Friday morning.According to a report from Togiak on 9/13, at 4:05 pm ADT, 1 boat washed out to the beach (caused by the wind). The boat's anchor snapped Thursday morning. According to the NWS office in King Salmon, the Village Public Safety Officer (VPSO) in the community estimated "tide...10 ft above normal". It appeared that most significant water encroachment as on the "morning (Friday) tide".In Dillingham, officials suggested that the coastal flood was a minimal one ("very mild") and that they did not sustain any damage. The high tide and wind during the morning Thursday, and the next late Thursday afternoon, were mentioned as periods of concern.At Napakiak, one commercial fishing net was lost and the river reportedly overflowed its banks by 2-3 feet. Southerly winds across the area were gusting from 35 mph to locally near 55 mph Thursday. Strongest winds were reported at Cape Newenham, at the western juncture of the Bristol Bay and Kuskokwim Delta zone.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 12, 11:00 AM AST, 2 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 12, 11:00 AM AST, 2 hours before

SOUTH/SOUTHWEST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
1200 PM ADT THU SEP 12 2002

ANALYSIS...AVN/ETA SIMILAR ALTHOUGH AVN HAS DELTA CENTRAL PRES
SLIGHTLY LOWER AND IS PREFERRED. MODELS CONSISTENT IN WEAKENING
LOW EASTERN NORTON SOUND/SEWARD PEN 00Z SAT. FRONT NOT QUITE SO
SIMPLE..LOOKS LIKE POSSIBLE WAVE SOUTH OF AK PEN WHICH MAY BRING
SECONDARY FRONT ON KODIAK..COOK INLET ON HEELS OF FIRST. NEXT
ALEUTIAN SYSTEM HANDLED SIMILARLY BY AVN/ETA ALTHOUGH AVN A
LITTLE SLOWER TO DEEPEN BUT DEEPER AT 60 HRS.  WILL GO WITH
DEEPER AVN PRESSURE AT 60 HRS..NEAR 970 MB JUST EAST OF KODIAK.

FORECASTS...UPGRADED EAST PANC WIND ADVISORY TO MINIMUM HIGH WIND
ADVISORY IN ADVANCE OF FRONT LATER TODAY.

.AFC...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...COASTAL FLOOD WARNING KUSKOKWIM DELTA,BRISTOL BAY. HIGH
WIND WARNING EAST PANC UPPER HILLSIDE AND TURNAGAIN ARM.
MARINE...GALE 2,2C,3,5A,6A,8,12,13,15.

Event by event

2 storm surge/tide. Local standard time, as filed.

Storm Surge/Tide, Bristol Bay

When: September 12, 1:00 PM AST to September 13, 1:00 PM AST
Where: Bristol Bay County, Countywide
Property damage: $2,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Storm Surge/Tide, Kuskokwim Delta

When: September 12, 1:00 PM AST to September 13, 1:00 PM AST
Where: Kuskokwim Delta County, Countywide
Property damage: $1,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

What these are

Storm Surge/Tide: Water pushed ashore above the normal tide by a storm’s winds and low pressure.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, September 2002 The 2002 hurricane season

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5314436, 5314437.