ANCHORAGE, Alaska >> The edge of a rapidly intensifying storm is pummeling Alaska’s western Aleutian Islands, signaling its arrival with hurricane-force winds.

Sustained winds of 70 mph and gusts up to 96 mph were recorded Friday morning on Shemya Island, where 120 people are waiting out the storm at the end of the island chain.

The storm is also generating surf which will reach north shores of the Hawaiian Islands next week.

What’s left of Typhoon Nuri is also expected to bring unseasonably frigid temperatures to much of the U.S. next week.

Shemya Island is where the U.S. military operates Eareckson Air Station, which serves mainly as an early warning radar installation. Acting manager Don Llewellyn says no one is going outside, but people can see light poles waving.

National Weather Service forecaster Bob Oravec says the storm is expected to surpass the intensity of 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. But Nuri’s target is a sparsely populated region where people are accustomed to severe weather.

Ian Morrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Honolulu office, said the storm will bring waves of up to 25 feet to north shores of all islands. Above-average surf could linger through Friday.

“Initial forerunners will arrive Monday evening and approach warning levels on Tuesday,” Morrison said. “It’s a large swell.”