Threats of high winds and coastal flooding

As the powerhouse system approaches Alaska late Friday, roaring south-to-southwesterly winds will slam the state’s west coast. Massive amounts of water, shoved north by the high winds, will slosh ashore, raising the ocean as much as a dozen feet and battering vulnerable coastal communities with severe erosion. The storm will probably stall just offshore the Seward Peninsula over the weekend, continuing to push the Pacific toward Alaska’s vulnerable coastline.

“The duration of the high water is quite a bit longer than we often see, so that will lead to a longer duration of high impact surge and waves pounding the coastline,” Ed Plumb, a senior service hydrologist at the National Weather Service’s Fairbanks office, told The Washington Post.

Coastal flood warnings and high wind warnings have been issued, both remaining in effect until late Saturday evening, while storm warnings have been hoisted at sea to warn mariners of extremely dangerous conditions.

Gusts will top out around 90 mph in some spots, with hurricane-force gusts up to 80 mph expected in and around Nome, which is known for being the end point of the famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Water levels in the coastal town of 4,000 are likely to top out at 8 to 11 feet above high tide. In nearby Golovin, water levels will be even higher, pushing 9 to 13 feet above their normal high tide level, according to the Weather Service.

In Nome and other villages along the northern…