Bering Sea In Crosshairs of Monster Storm

Saturday Update: Post-tropical Cyclone Nuri Breaks Record

Today into Saturday, the Bering Sea will feel the brunt of the strongest storm to hit the region in decades, and maybe even ever, the National Weather Service predicts.

The Western and Central Aleutians and Bering Sea are in the crosshairs of post tropical cyclone Nuri, packing hurricane force winds and significant wave heights as high 50 feet, which will undoubtedly impact maritime traffic in the area, the NWS said.

The storm is so powerful that it could even break the 1977 record for the lowest atmospheric pressure recorded in Alaska, which was 925 mb measured in Dutch Harbor, according to the NWS.

Forecasts from both the European (ECMWF) and American (GFS) computer models have consistently predicted this extremely powerful non-tropical storm to bottom out at peak intensity below 930 millibars over the western Bering Sea, near the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska Friday night into Saturday, The Weather Channel reports. Both models, in fact, have repeatedly suggested the pressure of the storm could go as low as 920 to 925 millibars, which would break the recorded recorded October 25, 1977, The Weather Channel said.

Here’s the latest Warning from the National Weather Service:

Hurricane Force Wind Warning

OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
326 AM AKST FRI NOV 7 2014

OFFSHORE WATERS FORECAST FOR THE BERING SEA

WIND FORECASTS REFLECT THE PREDOMINANT SPEED AND DIRECTION
EXPECTED. SEA FORECASTS REPRESENT AN AVERAGE OF THE HIGHEST
ONE-THIRD OF THE COMBINED WIND WAVE AND SWELL HEIGHT.

PKZ411-080230-
BERING SEA OFFSHORE WEST OF 180 AND EAST OF THE INTERNATIONAL
DATELINE-
326 AM AKST FRI NOV 7 2014

…HURRICANE FORCE WIND WARNING TODAY…

.TODAY…SE WIND 35 TO 50 KT INCREASING TO 50 TO 70 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON. SEAS 12 TO 20 FT. RAIN.
.TONIGHT…S WIND 40 TO 55 KT. SEAS 20 TO 35 FT. RAIN SHOWERS.
.SAT…SE WIND 30 TO 45 KT. SEAS 25 TO 38 FT. RAIN SHOWERS.
.SAT NIGHT…NE WIND 25 TO 40 KT. SEAS 17 TO 29 FT.
.SUN THROUGH TUE…NW WIND 25 TO 40 KT. SEAS 13 TO 21 FT.

$$