NWS forecasts water 5 feet above high tide at Golovin through Friday

Water is forecast to run 3 to 5 feet above the normal high tide line at Golovin and 3 to 4 feet at Nome, under a high surf advisory in effect through 10 pm Friday. It peaks at each high tide.

Forecasters raised the Golovin numbers Thursday afternoon. Southwest winds driving the surf are expected to gust 40 to 50 mph, easing Friday night into Saturday. The weather service warns of localized beach erosion and tells people to protect property.

This is the third round of high water at Golovin in about three weeks, after an advisory in late August and a coastal flood watch last weekend that warned water could reach the village's lowest-lying buildings.

The benchmark there is ex-typhoon Merbok, which in September 2022 pushed water past a mark that had stood since 1913, and did damage across 40 communities and 1,300 miles of Alaska coastline.

Farther south, a separate advisory puts water 1 to 3 feet above normal along the Yukon Delta coast, and high water on the Kuskokwim is expected to meet storm surge at Friday's high tide.