Champi Remnants Bring Storm Winds to Alaska
The former typhoon merged with a midlatitude storm over the Bering Sea, bringing high winds and heavy precipitation to the state.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Severe Weather
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Remnants of Typhoon Champi entered the Bering Sea and intensified a midlatitude storm, bringing high winds and heavy precipitation to Alaska. Champi was the fourth ex-typhoon to enter Alaskan waters in 2026.
Why it matters
Alaska's exposure to ex-typhoons has become a recurring feature of the 2026 season, with the Northwest Pacific already recording 25 named storms since April. The merging of tropical remnants with midlatitude systems can extend strong winds and rain well beyond where the original storm formed.
Champi reached maximum sustained winds of nearly 300 kilometers per hour before weakening over the Bering Sea. Annular storms, like the nearby Typhoon In-fa, account for about 4% of western North Pacific tropical cyclones, and the Alaska impacts from Champi have not been quantified in available data.
The players
Typhoon Champi
A powerful western Pacific tropical cyclone whose remnants affected Taiwan, Guam, China, Japan and Alaska.
DSCOVR satellite
A joint NASA and NOAA Earth-observing satellite whose EPIC camera captured imagery of the storms.
The details
As Champi moved north, it underwent extratropical transition and became intertwined with a midlatitude storm over the Bering Sea. The EPIC camera aboard the DSCOVR satellite captured both Typhoon In-fa and Champi on October 29, 2026.
Timeline
April 2026: Northwest Pacific storm season count began.
August 2026: Bang-Lang entered Alaskan waters.
September 2026: Dujuan entered Alaskan waters.
Early October 2026: Choi-wan entered Alaskan waters.
October 29, 2026: EPIC captured In-fa and Champi imagery.
Seasonal Patterns
A strong El Niño developing in the Pacific is a likely contributor to the increased storm activity behind Champi's track. Annular storms with eyes averaging about 45 kilometers, compared with 25 kilometers for standard cyclones, are a rarer structure that still accounted for a small share of western North Pacific storms.
Residents in exposed coastal areas of Alaska should monitor official National Weather Service forecasts for wind and precipitation warnings during the storm's passage. Travelers and boaters in the Bering Sea region should check current marine advisories before heading out.
The takeaway
Ex-typhoons can reach Alaska with substantial wind and rain after they merge with midlatitude systems, so coastal residents should not assume a distant storm will be harmless. Tracking satellite imagery and official forecasts gives the earliest warning of how these remnants will behave.
Further reading
For more on storm systems like this, explore Severe Weather coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Qazinform.
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