Hurricane-force winds and surging waves are pounding Alaska's western coast as residents wait out the strongest storm to hit the region in four decades.
While the massive Bering Sea gale tore roofs off homes and caused scattered power outages on Wednesday, forecasters say the storm is just getting started.
"This is a storm of epic proportions," U.S. National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Osiensky told The Associated Press. "We're not out of the woods with this."
Coastal flood warnings are in effect for seaside areas such as St. Lawrence Island and Little Diomede Island, where surging waves are expected to erode shorelines.
The U.S. National Weather Service said Thursday that sea levels are 10 feet above normal along the Bering Strait Coast which has already been soaked by the storm.
There haven't been any injuries or deaths reported as a result of the storm. Still, the NWS is warning that the weather is "life threatening" and should be taken seriously.
"This will be one of the most severe storms on record," the NWS said in a statement that asked residents to "take precautions now to protect life and property."
Video footage of the storm captured in the Alaskan city of Nome shows a blizzard lashing a residential area where cars are barely visible under sheets of snow.
The Bering Sea storm has been dubbed a "snowicane" on social media sites in what's likely a nod at the storm's one-two punch of blistering winds and blasts of snow.
Earlier, the storm managed to blast past the speed quota for hurricane-force winds with winds that were gusting at 137 km/h. Winds started to taper off on Wednesday night with forceful, but comparably slower gusts at 89 km/h.
But slower winds shouldn't be looked at as a sign that the storm is less dangerous, warned Don Moore from National Weather Service Alaska.
"The storm surge is just getting going," he said in a Facebook video posted Wednesday. "The worst of the conditions [has not been seen] in regards to coastal flooding despite the winds are coming down."
Moore warned that communities such as Nome will see the effects of rising sea levels.
Nome has already seen scattered power outages as a result of the storm along with Hooper Bay and Tununak.
While Alaskans are accustomed to harsh weather conditions, forecasters and residents have said that the "snowicane" is out of the ordinary.
"I've never seen it that bad before," said Kivalina resident Marilyn Swan. "We've had storms, but this is pretty strong."
The last time a comparable storm hit the area was in November 1974 when a massive storm created a sea surge that was more than 13 feet high.
With files from The Associated Press
