High Surf, Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley
- When
- September 24, 3:00 AM AKST to 12:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Baldwin Pen. & Selawik Valley forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS Employee
High Surf in Alaska, September 24, 2012
A southwest wind of 20 to 30 mph around the backside of a 988 mb low in the southern Chukchi Sea produced a period of high surf at Kotzebue during the morning hours of the 24th. Sea levels were 2 to 3 feet above normal and beach erosion and localized minor flooding were observed on the lagoon side of the village.
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.
A southwest wind of 20 to 30 mph around the backside of a 988 mb low in the southern Chukchi Sea produced a period of high surf at Kotzebue during the morning hours of the 24th. Sea levels were 2 to 3 feet above normal and beach erosion and localized minor flooding were observed on the lagoon side of the village. On the ocean side, minor beach erosion was observed, but no flooding was reported.
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 24, 2:22 AM AKST, 38 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 24, 2:22 AM AKST, 38 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 322 AM AKDT MON SEP 24 2012 .DISCUSSION... ALOFT... AN UPPER LOW CENTER NEAR CAPE LISBURNE WILL MOVE EASTWARD...WEAKENING INTO A TROUGH NORTH OF DEMARCATION POINT BY TUE AFTERNOON. A SOUTHWEST FLOW OVER THE INTERIOR WILL WEAKEN THIS AFTERNOON AND BECOME LIGHT SOUTHERLY LATE TONIGHT. A WEAK RIDGE WILL MOVE NORTHWARD TO EXTEND FROM THE SEWARD PENINSULA EAST TO THE CANADA BORDER MON NIGHT AND REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH WED. SURFACE...A TIGHT 986 MB LOW NORTHWEST OF CAPE LISBURNE WILL WEAKEN TO A 1002 CENTER NEAR BARROW BY 4 AM TUE...THEN BECOMING A RAPIDLY WEAKENING TROUGH AS IT CONTINUES EASTWARD. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL... WINDS ALONG THE AKZ210 COAST ARE ONLY LIGHT SOUTHWESTERLY. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR AKZ210 WILL BE CANCELED. IN THE KOTZEBUE AREA...SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 20 MPH WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH DURING THE DAY AND NO HIGH SURF ISSUES ARE EXPECTED. THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR AKZ209 WILL BE CANCELED. ALONG THE CHUKCHI COAST NORTHWEST OF CAPE KRUSENSTERN...SOUTHWEST WINDS AROUND 30 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH MOST OF THE DAY AND THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THIS AREA TODAY. TIDE GAGE AT RED DOG PORT IS INDICATING TIDES ABOUT 2 FEET ABOVE NORMAL. NORTH TO NORTHEAST GALES ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER PKZ200-PKZ210 BY TUE EVENING AS A 976 MB LOW MOVES INTO THE SOUTHEAST BERING SEA. && .HYDROLOGY... A FLOOD WARNING REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE NENANA RIVER FROM THE REX BRIDGE TO THE TANANA RIVER. MINOR FLOODING NEAR THE CITY OF NENANA IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE LOWER REACHES OF THE NENANA RIVER WILL REMAIN AT FLOOD LEVEL THROUGH TUESDAY DUE TO THE LONG CREST AT HEALY WHICH HAS SPREAD OUT OVER THE WIDE FLAT VALLEY. NO RECENT REPORTS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE GAGE ON THE TANANA RIVER AT NENANA...THE LAST REPORT WAS 11.3 FEET AT AROUND 10 AM SUNDAY MORNING. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WARNING FOR THE NENANA RIVER FROM THE REX BRIDGE TO THE TANANA RIVER. HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR AKZ207. SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR PKZ200-PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ230- PKZ235-PKZ240-PKZ245. GALE WARNING FOR PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230. && RF SEP 12
Event by event
1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
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
More
Every storm in Alaska in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, September 2012
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: 407767.