Over Wednesday night, the big Bering Sea storm continued to bluster along Western and Northwestern Alaska, but its intensity has begun to diminish slightly. As of the latest reports, most communities seem to be coming through the worst without major damage.
"It actually went reasonably OK overnight," commented Claude Denver of Alaska's State Emergency Coordination Center (SECC) early Thursday morning, based on the most recent contact with affected communities.
Denver noted, though, that many communities were still asleep, and that fresh reports would start to come in once people begin to stir and day starts to dawn.
He said one of the most pressing concerns for authorities Thursday morning is the coastal Northwest village of Point Hope. He said quite a few people are still gathered in emergency shelter there, and the town is having power issues.
Denver praised the active response of the North Slope Borough, which he said is working to restore stable power in Point Hope and is gathering a Crisis Response Team, which is expected to arrive in the community on Thursday.
Denver also said that at most recent contact with Shishmaref, the exposed town's lagoon was reported to be overflowing, but that there was no damage to the community itself.
And as far as the SECC has heard Thursday morning, the village of Golovin seems to have dodged a bullet. Golovin was a concern as seas reached their peak with high tide Wednesday evening, Denver said, because it sits very near, in some places below, sea level. But at last contact, the peak tide had not flooded Golovin.
The National Weather Service predicts Thursday morning that the storm will continue to decrease in intensity, and its winds should slow significantly this afternoon and evening compared to their peak.
Also, a winter storm warning is in effect until 3 p.m. for the inland northwest Upper Kobuk and Noatak Valleys, including the communities of Ambler, Shungnak and Kobuk.