Powerful ocean storm blasting Alaskan islands

Residents locked themselves indoors as near hurricane-strength winds blasted parts of Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

The remnants of Typhoon Nuri moved through the remote region hundreds of miles from the mainland with winds of 70 mph and gusts up to 96 mph recorded Friday night. The system is set to push unseasonably frigid air into much of the U.S. next week.

Forecasters predicted waves as high as 50 feet near the islands, prompting ships and fishing vessels to get out of the storm's path or seek protected harbors.

"It's going to slowly weaken all the way through Sunday," National Weather Service meteorologist Jason Ahsenmacher said. "It's going to be a very slow process."

"Most mariners know about this storm and they are trying to stay away," he said.

The storm was expected to surpass the intensity of 2012's Superstorm Sandy, meteorologists said. But while Sandy was blamed for at least 182 deaths and $65 billion in damage on the East Coast, Nuri's target is a sparsely populated region with just a few small communities.

The island is home to the U.S. military's Eareckson Air Station, an early warning radar installation. Acting manager Don Llewellyn said the community averages six weather-related lockdowns a year.

"This is nothing new to us," Llewellyn said. "This one's a little bit more intense, but it's something that we're prepared to deal with."

Contributing: Doyle Rice, USA TODAY; The Associated Press