More flooding possible on Bering Strait coast after storm swamps Wales and Teller roads

Friday's Bering Sea storm flooded roads and affected outlying buildings in Wales and Teller, and more high water and surf are headed for the Bering Strait coast through Tuesday, the National Weather Service said Saturday.

Water along the coast, including Teller and Brevig Mission, is forecast to stay 4 to 6 feet above the normal high tide line until 10 pm Sunday, followed by breaking waves of 2 to 4 feet until 4 am Tuesday. In Wales, that much water could push Village Creek over its banks into low-lying areas behind town. Teller and Brevig Mission could see minor flooding in low-lying areas, and localized beach erosion may occur, forecasters said.

In Shishmaref, more significant flooding is possible from late Monday night through late Tuesday night, with water 3 to 5 feet above the high tide line, under a Coastal Flood Watch. Water up to 4 feet there may erode the road to the landfill and bring high water in the lagoon, the weather service said.

Shishmaref ranked fourth for erosion threat and second for flooding among the state's remote communities in a 2019 assessment by the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Denali Commission. Teller ranked ninth for flooding.

In Wales, where the strongest gust measured on the coast Friday hit 71 mph, the old fuel tanks are at risk from coastal erosion and storm-surge flooding, according to the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative. It plans a new tank farm farther from the coast, on a gravel pad raised to 17 feet above sea level.

A High Wind Watch calls for possible gusts up to 60 mph on the Bering Strait coast and in Shishmaref from Monday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon, which could damage property and cause power outages. Forecasters are tracking four more storms behind Friday's, one of which may carry tropical remnants late in the week.