High Surf in Alaska, July 21 to 22, 2010

Name: High Surf in Alaska, July 21 to 22, 2010
Start: 2010-07-21T23:00
End: 2010-07-22T14:00
Location: Alaska

July 21 to 22, 2010 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A 990 mb low passed between Wrangel Island and the northwest coast of Alaska on the 22nd. A south wind of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 40 mph occurred ahead of the low and its associated cold front.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $5,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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 AFG wrote it up.

A 990 mb low passed between Wrangel Island and the northwest coast of Alaska on the 22nd. A south wind of 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 40 mph occurred ahead of the low and its associated cold front. Tides of 1 to 2 feet above normal combined with high surf to produce minor beach erosion in the vicinity of Kivalina. Some rocks were lost along the beach, but there was no other known property damage.

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 Fairbanks, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 21, 3:47 PM AKST, 7 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 21, 3:47 PM AKST, 7 hours 13 minutes before

NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
447 PM AKDT WED JUL 21 2010

.SYNOPSIS...
ALOFT...
THE LONG WAVE TROUGH FROM THE POLE TO ALASKA WILL PERSIST THROUGH
THE WEEKEND. A STRONG SHORT WAVE MOVING FROM N OF SIBERIA TO THE
CHUKCHI SEA THU THEN CONTINUING SOUTH. THIS IS SUPPORTING THE
STRONG LOW MOVING INTO NW ALASKA WITH STRONG COLD ADVECTION.

A LOW ALOFT NEAR NABESNA WILL MOVE TO NEAR BEAR CREEK YT BY 4AM
THU AND THEN DRIFT NORTH THROUGH FRIDAY. HEAVY RAIN IS OCCURRING
UNDER THIS FEATURE. EXPECT 1-2 INCHES OF RAIN IN AREA SOUTHEAST OF
DELTA JUNCTION TO CHICKEN THROUGH THU, WITH ANOTHER .5 INCH THU
NIGHT- FRI. THIS COULD LEAD TO SMALL STREAM FLOODING ALONG ALASKA
RANGE TONIGHT-THU NIGHT FROM ISABEL PASS WEST AND WILL NEED TO BE
WATCHED. WILL CAUSE RISES NABESNA AND CHISANA RIVERS NEAR NORTHWAY
ON WEEKEND.

ANOTHER WEAK LOW ALOFT NEAR BETHEL WILL DISSIPATE NEAR ILIAMNA
TONIGHT. SCATTERED SHOWERS ARE OCCURRING ALONG THIS.

SURFACE...
A BROAD THERMAL TROUGH FROM CHICKEN TO ANAKTUVUK PASS IS CAUSING
ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA NE OF NORTHWAY-FAIRBANKS-
GALENA NOW EVEN INTO ZONE 205. THE AIR MASS IS VERY MOIST IN THE SE
INTERIOR AND HAS CAUSED SOME VERY HEAVY RAIN AND SMALL HAIL.
FAIRBANKS RECEIVED OVER ONE INCH OF RAIN IN LESS THAN ONE HOUR
JUST BEFORE 4PM FROM THIS AND THAT HAS LEAD TO AN URBAN FLOOD
ADVISORY FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS.

A STRONG LOW NORTH OF WRANGEL ISLAND WILL MOVE TO 200 NM NORTHWEST OF
BARROW AS A 994 MB LOW BY 4PM THU AND THEN SLOWLY WEAKEN THROUGH
FRIDAY. A WEATHER FRONT EXTENDING SOUTH FROM THIS LOW WILL MOVE
EAST TO A BARROW TO ST LAWRENCE ISLAND LINE BY 4PM THU AND MOVE
INLAND ALONG THE WEST COAST OF ALASKA THU NIGHT. THIS WILL BRING
SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH AND HIGH SURF TO THE CHUKCHI SEA
COAST TONIGHT AND THURSDAY. THE STRONG WINDS AND HIGH SURF ARE
EXPECTED TO DECREASE BY THURSDAY EVENING. THIS SURF WILL NOT BE AS
HIGH AS THAT FROM THE STORM OF LAST WEEK. ABOVE NORMAL SURF WILL
DEVELOP OVER NORTON SOUND COAST THU.

WIDESPREAD RAIN WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST WITH THE FRONT. NORTHWEST
WINDS 15-20 KT FOLLOWING THE FRONT MAY CAUSE ABOVE NORMAL SURF AT
SHISHMAREF THU NIGHT AND FRI.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
MODELS INITIALIZE WELL AND SHOW SIMILAR SOLUTIONS THROUGH 4AM
FRI...THEN NAM MOVES NW AK LOW SOUTH QUICKER THAN THE GFS. FAVOR
THE GFS SOLUTION AS THIS FEATURE IS APPROACHING FROM N OF SIBERIA
IN AREA NAM DOES POORLY WITH FEATURES.

OTHER MODEL DIFFERENCE IS ON HEAVY RAIN IN SE INTERIOR. THE NAM
APPEARS TO DO WELL ON AMOUNTS BUT THE LOCATION IS TOO FAR NW. THE
GFS APPEARS TOO LIGHT WITH THE HEAVY RAIN, BUT HAS THE CORRECT
AREA LOCATED NEAR THE LOW ALOFT. FAVOR GFS LOCATION BUT USING THE
HIGHER NAM AMOUNTS.

COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...SEE ABOVE. NONE EXPECTED
ON DAYS 3 AND 4.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
NONE SIGNIFICANT.

&&

.HYDROLOGY.
ZONES 223 224 AND 226 SEE ABOVE.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR AKZ201-AKZ207.

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225-
PKZ230-PKZ235.

GALE WARNING FOR PKZ225-PKZ230.
&&

JB JUL 10

Event by event

1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Chukchi Sea Coast

When: July 21, 11:00 PM AKST to July 22, 2:00 PM AKST
Where: Chukchi Sea Coast forecast zone
Property damage: $5,000
Reported by: Fire Department/Rescue

What these are

High Surf: Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Alaska in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Alaska, July 2010

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: 237372.