Coastal Flood in Alaska, September 25 to 26, 2010

Name: Coastal Flood in Alaska, September 25 to 26, 2010
Start: 2010-09-25T06:00
End: 2010-09-26T09:00
Location: Alaska

September 25 to 26, 2010 · NWS AFG · 1 event in 1 county or zone

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
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.

An intensifying low moved south across the Arctic Ocean and deepened to 990 millibars about 350 miles north of Barrow by the morning of the 25th. Sea ice was near seasonal minimums and there was several hundred miles of open water to the northwest of Barrow. A northwest wind around the back side of the low increased to sustained speeds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph. The strong wind caused seas to build to an estimated 5 to 10 feet that broke along the beach. Seas were estimated to be as high as 15 feet offshore. Although the storm surge was estimated to be less than 1 foot, the high seas did cause some minor flooding around Barrow. The road that runs parallel to the beach was closed due to minor flooding. Minor flooding was also reported at the public playground and in low lying areas near the Top of the World Hotel. The boat ramp was also reported to be flooding. No property damage was reported during the storm. The city built up berms that were estimated to be 6 feet high and the berms likely helped to mitigate flood 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 Sep 25, 3:39 AM AKST, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 25, 3:39 AM AKST, 2 hours 21 minutes before

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Event by event

1 coastal flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Coastal Flood, Northern Arctic Coast

When: September 25, 6:00 AM AKST to September 26, 9:00 AM AKST
Where: Northern Arctic Coast forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee

What these are

Coastal Flood: Flooding of coastal land by the sea, from storm surge, onshore wind or high tides.

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, September 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 254801.