________________________
________________________
AccuWeather Global Weather Center — 10 November 2014 – AccuWeather.com reports a powerful storm has moved into the Bering Sea and has become the most intense storm to ever impact the region.
The former Super Typhoon Nuri has tracked northward into the Bering Sea, located in between Alaska and Russia, and has lost all tropical characteristics.
The system has undergone rapid intensification, producing howling winds as the central pressure plummets to near record levels.
On Friday night, the Ocean Prediction Center analyzed the central area of low pressure to be 924 millibars (27.29 inches of Hg).
This means that the storm has become the most powerful storm to ever move over the Bering Sea in recorded history in terms of central pressure.
Previous to this storm, the old record stood at 925 millibars (27.32 inches of Hg) from a powerful storm that moved over the Bering Sea on Oct. 25, 1977.
To put this in perspective, the lowest pressure recorded in Hurricane Sandy was 940 millibars (27.76 inches of Hg).
AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell pointed out that, “Despite what NOAA said, there are no good records of storms in this area, at least before the modern era, so we may never know if this is a record.”
Conditions will slowly improve across the region on Sunday after the system produced waves as large as 45 feet high and hurricane-force winds.
Winds on Friday gusted to 97 mph at Shemya, Alaska, home to the U.S. Eareckson Air Station.
Large waves should still be anticipated which can make it very difficult to navigate the waters of the Bering Sea.
Waves and swells are not expected to be nearly this high along the west coast of Alaska. However, they may still be strong enough to cause flooding and erosion in coastal areas.
This storm will not only have impacts on Alaska, eastern Russia and the Bering Sea, but also the contiguous United States.
According to Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson, “In brief, when a typhoon curves away from Asia it causes the jet stream [steering winds] farther to the east across the Pacific and into North America to buckle and amplify days later.”
This is the case for the remnants of Super Typhoon Nuri as it has already curved away from Asia and is tracking northward toward Alaska.
As a result, arctic air is expected to invade a large part of the United States during the new week.
