‘Snowicane’ to Rev Up Pacific Northwest Storm Train: Scientific American
A powerful storm that resembles a hurricane with snow, a “snowicane”, continues to pound western Alaska. “The potentially historic ‘superstorm’… is making ‘landfall’ in Alaska today with a pressure equivalent to a Category 4 Hurricane,” said AccuWeather.com’s Jesse Ferrell.
Part of this fierce storm will dive into the contiguous United States on Friday, once again revving up the Northwest’s storm train.
“For people in the Bering Sea region, including shipping and fishing interests, this is considered to be a life-threatening storm situation,” warned Accuweather.com Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
The powerful storm is unleashing damaging winds, blizzard conditions, huge waves and coastal flooding. A 7-foot storm surge hit Nome, Alaska with water reportedly reaching the base of buildings. There have also been reports of roofs in Nome being blown off.
One incredibly impressive observation with this storm came from a coastal station that measured ice accretion of 23.5 inches per hour Tuesday night, according to Ferrell, who has more statistics on this historic storm in his blog.