Strong winds cause coastal flooding and road closures in Utqiagvik, Alaska
As a deep offshore low pressure system was moving eastward off the North Slope of Alaska (surface analyses), strong southwesterly to westerly winds caused inland flooding that led to some road closures in the Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) area on 12-13 September 2026. 10-minute Full Disk scan GOES-18 (GOES-West) Water Vapor images centered on Barrow Post-Roger Airport (above) showed the cloud features (brighter shades of white) and dryer air behind the cold front (darker shades of blue) associated with the low pressure system, and included plots of hourly surface wind barbs and wind gusts.
A listing of Barrow Post-Rogers Airport surface observations (below) showed that peak wind gusts were 50-51 knots for 3 consecutive hours.
A toggle between VIIRS Infrared Window images from Suomi-NPP and NOAA-21 (below) provided a more detailed view of the clouds associated with the offshore low pressure system.
A Public Service Announcement issued by Alaska’s North Slope Borough (below) detailed the flooding-related road closures.
