Kodiak, Alaska – Dangerous marine conditions are hammering Alaska’s Gulf and Bering waters today, with northwest gales to 40 knots and seas peaking 10 to 18 feet from Cook Inlet to Bristol Bay, likely disrupting small-craft operations, tenders, and Alaska Marine Highway sailings.
According to the National Weather Service in Anchorage, Gale Warnings are in effect today, some lasting through tonight, including Marmot Island to Sitkinak 15–85 NM (NW 40 kt, seas 14 ft), Sitkinak to Castle Cape in and beyond 15 NM (gusts to 55 kt out of bays and passes, seas 9–17 ft), Bristol Bay and the Kuskokwim Delta (NW 35–40 kt, seas 11–15 ft), and the Gulf offshore south of 57N (20–35 kt, 10–18 ft). Additional gales expand across the Bering tonight and Sunday, affecting the Pribilofs and Saint Matthew Island.
Mariners in Kamishak Bay, Shelikof Strait, and along the Alaska Peninsula should avoid bar crossings and exposed runs. Secure moorings, double lines on tenders, and stow deck gear. Check with harbormasters in Kodiak, Homer, Dutch Harbor, and St. Paul for port conditions, and monitor AMHS for possible delays. Power blips and minor coastal flooding in wind-prone harbors are possible during peak surges.
Winds ease Sunday and Sunday night for the Gulf and Bristol Bay, turning easterly in the eastern Bering. A new southwest to south swell builds Tuesday into Wednesday, with 9–13 ft seas and 20–25 kt winds returning for parts of the Gulf and Bering. Marine warnings remain possible into midweek.
