Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
642 PM EDT Sun Jul 03 2022
Valid 12Z Thu Jul 07 2022 - 12Z Mon Jul 11 2022
...Heavy Precipitation Threat for the Alaskan Southern Tier...
...Pattern Overview and Weather/Hazard Highlights...
An active medium range weather pattern should emerge for parts of
Alaska. The weather pattern by Thursday will feature closed
lows/troughs centered over the Arctic Ocean and southeastern
Bering Sea on the periphery of a warming upper ridge from western
Canada to the Alaskan mainland. Guidance has trended to
transitioning more ample southeastern Bering Sea closed low/trough
energies toward Southwest Alaska/Alaskan Peninsula/Kodiak Island
then south-central Alaska into Friday/Saturday where sustained and
deepened Gulf of Alaskan moisture feed offers a protracted threat
for moderate to locally terrain enhancing precipitation.
Additional downstream system progression with the main closed low
though should become increasingly inhibited by the shielding upper
ridge, so less certain upstream flow of additional Bering
Sea/Aleutians energies into the backside of this system should
tend into early next week act to reform a main closed low position
underneath over the west-central Gulf of Alaska as a maritime
threat. Large circulation proximity and wrapping energies should
bring additional periods of moisture/precipitation inland into
southern to southeast Alaska. Meanwhile, the Arctic vortex should
stay well to the north/northwest of the North Slope. However,
northward ejecting impulses and moisture northward through
Southwest Alaska and into the Interior on the western periphery of
the slowly eroding upper ridge should meanwhile fuel multi-day
local rain chances.
...Guidance/Predictability Assessment...
The synoptic scale pattern evolution remains well accounted for in
guidance at medium range time scales, but individual model
solutions characteristically vary more significantly with embedded
systems/phasing over next weekend. This likely equates to a period
with near normal forecast predictability. For max product
continuity consistent with uncertainty, the WPC Alaskan product
suite was primarily derived from a composite of the 12 UTC GFS,
ECMWF, UKMET and Canadian model blend Thursday into Saturday
before switching to a ensemble mean blend of the compatible
GEFS/NAEFS/ECMWF means onward through days 7/8 (next
Sunday/Monday). WPC continuity is well maintained with this
forecast plan.
Schichtel
Additional 3-7 Day Hazard Information can be found on the WPC
medium range hazards outlook 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