Updated

Weather forecasters say an explosive storm surpassing the intensity of 2012's Superstorm Sandy is heading north through the Pacific Ocean and is expected to reach Alaska's western Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea over the weekend.

The remnant of Typhoon Nuri is moving northeast from the Japanese coast and mixing with cold air and a jet stream that could bring hurricane-force winds and waves 50 feet high. The National Weather Service says it could arrive between late Friday and Saturday before weakening.

Weather service forecaster Bob Oravec says the system is expected to push frigid air into much of the continental U.S. next week.

While Sandy caused destruction along the urban East Coast, Nuri's target in the north is a sparsely populated region with a few small communities that are accustomed to severe weather.