Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
700 PM EDT Thu Jun 17 2021
Valid 12Z Mon Jun 21 2021 - 12Z Fri Jun 25 2021
...Heavy rainfall threat for portions of coastal Southcentral next
week...
...Overview and Guidance/Predictability Evaluation...
An upper low will slowly move eastward along and just south of the
Aleutians next week, forced in between a trio of strong upper
ridging: over British Columbia, roughly 750-1000 miles to the
northwest of the Papahanaumokuakea National Monument (west of the
Dateline, in the subtropics), and over Siberia. This will cause an
incoming system to slow its pace and bring in modest to locally
heavy rain for portions of coastal Southcentral next week on
southerly flow. The models and ensembles were in generally good
agreement on the synoptic evolution but lacked in the smaller
wavelength details. Aside from the 12Z UKMET, a blend of the 12Z
GFS/ECMWF and Canadian offered a reasonable starting point despite
their timing differences both over the Aleutians and across
southeastern areas. A middle ground solution was preferred despite
a slower trend overall, owing to detail differences that may or
may not play out as advertised. Increased ensemble weighting for
the last few days of the forecast (next Wed-Fri) with increased
uncertainty in the shape of the upper low and its vortices over
the Arctic/Beaufort. This could cause a cold front to drop
southward, at least to the Brooks Range, should enough height
falls move southward.
...Weather/Threats Highlights...
Exiting upper low and weak surface system over southeastern areas
will promote diminishing showers for the Panhandle Monday into
Tuesday as heights slowly rise. Bering/Aleutians system will slip
eastward via possible triple point redevelopment late Mon into Tue
as the pattern becomes increasingly amplified. By Wed into Thu,
southerly flow will increase into coastal Southcentral from Kodiak
across the southern Kenai (and west side of Cook Inlet) into
Prince William Sound as precipitable water values increase to over
one inch to perhaps 1.25" which is about 3-4 standard deviations
above normal for these coastal areas. Rainfall may exceed 1-3" per
day over parts of the region as the axis slowly moves eastward. To
the north, additional areas of showers and perhaps a storm may
fire over northwestern areas eastward along a surface trough in
response to daytime heating.
Temperatures over the state will be near to below normal over
southern coastal areas from the Aleutians across Southcentral to
the Panhandle due to ample clouds and over the North Slope with
lower heights. Areas of near to above normal temperatures will be
across parts of the central/southern Panhandle under the ridge and
over the Interior with more generous sunshine.
Fracasso
Hazards:
- Heavy rain across portions of mainland Alaska, Wed-Thu, Jun
23-Jun 24.
Additional 3-7 Day Hazard information can be found on the WPC
medium range hazards chart at:
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/threats/threats.php
WPC medium range Alaskan products including 500mb, surface
fronts/pressures progs and sensible weather grids can also be
found at:
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/alaska/ak_5dayfcst500_wbg.gif
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/alaska/akmedr.shtml
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/alaska/ak_5km_gridsbody.html