Forecasters flag Kwigillingok as water rises along the Kuskokwim Delta coast

Water along the Kuskokwim Delta coast is forecast to run 1 to 2 feet above normal high tide from late Wednesday into Thursday morning. The National Weather Service says stretches of coastline that face directly into the wind, Kwigillingok among them, have a higher chance of seeing impacts.

Southerly winds gusting to 40 mph are pushing the water ashore, across a long stretch of open ocean that lets waves build. The winds are expected to peak Thursday morning and ease Thursday night. Up to half an inch of rain is forecast.

Kwigillingok was hit hard last October, when storm surge drove water 6.3 feet above the normal high tide line, twice the previous record there. Federal storm records say an estimated 37 homes came off their foundations and a preliminary assessment found every home in the community affected. Twenty-four people were rescued from two houses that floated out to sea. One person died, and two remained missing as of December.

Forecasters attribute rising coastal exposure across western Alaska partly to declining sea ice, with Bering Sea coverage down about 26 percent per decade since 1980.

The weather statement covering the Kuskokwim Delta coast and Nunivak Island expires at 6 pm Wednesday, hours before the water is expected to peak.

Farther north, water along the Yukon Delta coast is forecast 1 to 2 feet above normal from late Thursday into Saturday, and 2 to 4 feet above the normal high tide line in Norton Sound.