High Surf, Northern Arctic Coast
- When
- September 6, 7:00 PM AKST to September 7, 12:30 AM AKST
- Where
- Northern Arctic Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS Employee
High Surf in Alaska, September 6 to 9, 2012
A 990 mb low developed along the eastern Beaufort Sea Coast on the morning of the 5th and strengthened to 986 mb by 0300AKST on the 6th. The low moved to Banks Island on the afternoon of the 7th, and then very slowly drifted to the northern tip of Victoria Island on the 9th.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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 developed along the eastern Beaufort Sea Coast on the morning of the 5th and strengthened to 986 mb by 0300AKST on the 6th. The low moved to Banks Island on the afternoon of the 7th, and then very slowly drifted to the northern tip of Victoria Island on the 9th. Strong west winds on the back side of the low produced high surf from Barrow east to Barter Island.
Zone 202: During the evening of the 6th at 1900AKST waves between Browerville and Point Barrow washed ocean water up on the road. By 0030AKST on the 7th the waves began to gradually subside.
Zone 203: The Prudhoe Bay Dockmaster reported that high surf on the 7th through the 8th prohibited ships from docking at the port. There were no reports of any damage.
Zone 204: High surf pushed ocean water up over half of the Airport runway at Barter Island. Beach erosion was reported along a 5 to 6 mile stretch along the north shore of the barrier island from the afternoon of the 7th through the early afternoon of the 9th. Three small boats were reported to be adrift during the high water.
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 6, 12:29 PM AKST, 6 hours 31 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 6, 12:29 PM AKST, 6 hours 31 minutes before
NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK 129 PM AKDT THU SEP 6 2012 CORRECTED TEXT...LINE 3 IN PARAGRAPH 2. .DISCUSSION... A TROUGH ALOFT EXTENDING FROM THE CHUKCHI SEA SOUTHWESTWARD INTO RUSSIA WILL SWING EASTWARD TO BE CENTERED OVER THE CENTRAL ALASKA MAINLAND BY LATE FRIDAY NIGHT...WITH THE MAIN ENERGY PUSHING INTO THE GULF OF ALASKA. ANOTHER TROUGH WILL PUSH EASTWARD INTO THE WESTERN MAINLAND BY THURSDAY. BROAD LOW PRESSURE ALOFT WILL REMAIN PREDOMINANT OVER THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THE FORECAST AREA. AT THE SURFACE...A 985 MB LOW 250 MILES NORTH OF PRUDHOE BAY WILL MOVE TO 350 MILES NORTHEAST OF BARTER ISLAND BY 4 PM FRIDAY WEAKENING TO 993 MB. BY 4 PM SATURDAY THE LOW WILL BE 150 MILES NORTHEAST OF BANKS ISLAND WEAKENING TO 998 MB. A BROAD 1023 MB HIGH CENTERED 850 MILES WEST OF BARROW WILL MOVE EASTWARD BECOMING A BROAD RIDGE EXTENDING ACROSS THE CHUKCHI AND NORTHERN BERING SEAS BY 4 PM SATURDAY. THE ACTIVE STORM TRACK WILL REMAIN WELL TO THE SOUTH OF THE NORTHERN ALASKA FORECAST AREA. COASTAL HAZARD POTENTIAL DAYS 3 AND 4...NONE. && .HYDROLOGY... GENERAL SHOWER ACTIVITY CONTINUING THROUGH MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA EXCEPT PARTS OF THE EASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN INTERIOR TONIGHT. PRECIPITATION WILL BE SNOW AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS IN THE ALASKA RANGE. THE AMOUNT OF SHOWER ACTIVITY WILL GRADUALLY DECREASE FRIDAY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL NOT BE LARGE ENOUGH TO CREATE ANY HYDROLOGIC PROBLEMS. OVER THE BROOKS RANGE...PRECIPITATION WILL BE RAIN OR SNOW WITH THE SNOW LEVEL GRADUALLY LOWERING TO AROUND 2000-2500 FEET TONIGHT. OVER THE ARCTIC COAST...PRECIPITATION TONIGHT AND FRIDAY COULD BE RAIN...SNOW...OR MIXED. IN DENALI PARK...SNOW HAS OCCURRED IN SOME HIGHER ELEVATION AREAS. EIELSON VISITOR WEB CAM SHOWS SNOW...AND SEVERAL INCHES ACCUMULATION PROBABLY HAS OCCURRED. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY PKZ210-PKZ235-PKZ240. GALE WARNING PKZ245. && RF SEP 12
Event by event
3 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.
High Surf, Central Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- September 7, 12:00 PM AKST to September 8, 11:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Central Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- Reported by
- Public
High Surf, Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast
- When
- September 7, 1:00 PM AKST to September 9, 1:00 PM AKST
- Where
- Eastern Beaufort Sea Coast forecast zone
- 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
- Flash Flooding and Flood in Arizona, September 6 to 7, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Pennsylvania, September 6, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Missouri, September 6, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in New York, September 6, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Iowa, September 6 to 7, 2012
- Damaging Winds and Heavy Rain in Kentucky, September 6, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Pennsylvania, September 6, 2012
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, September 6 to 8, 2012
- Hail in Nebraska, September 6, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, September 6, 2012
- Damaging Winds in Illinois, September 6, 2012
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Ohio, September 6 to 7, 2012
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: 398400, 407766, 407765.