Gale winds, 8-foot seas off Utqiagvik through Thursday

Anyone planning to take a small boat out of Utqiagvik should wait. The National Weather Service in Fairbanks has warned of gale-force winds and seas up to 8 feet in Northwestern Alaska coastal waters through 5 p.m. Thursday, conditions that put subsistence crews working the Chukchi Sea in summer at direct risk.

Southwest winds near 35 knots are expected to shift west by Thursday, holding 8-foot seas through the day. Closer to shore, northwest winds around 30 knots should build seas to 5 or 6 feet. Forecast wave heights are averages of the largest third of the waves, so individual swells can run higher than the number given.

The water stays rough into Friday, with 25-knot winds and 6-foot seas, before easing Saturday. Another round of northwest winds and 5- to 6-foot seas is forecast for Sunday.