Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
806 PM EDT Tue Jul 19 2022
Valid 12Z Sun Jul 24 2022 - 12Z Thu Jul 28 2022
...Multiple days of heavy rain possible across portions of coastal
southern Alaska and the Southeast...
...General Overview...
Through the course of extended period an anomalously deep upper
level low will begin to weaken as it moves southwards over the
western half of the Mainland and multiple impulses of energy will
eject out across the Aleutians and Gulf leading to heavy rain from
the Kenai Peninsula to the Southeast.
...Guidance/Predictability Assessment...
Model continue to show a highly anomalous upper low positioned
over the northern Bering at the start of the extended forecast.
With time, the guidance show increasing spread with the
orientation of trough. The GFS has persistently hold on to a
solution that takes the surface low further east as well as the
cold front crossing the Gulf of Alaska by next weekend when
compared to other global and ensemble guidance. The CMC has
started to trend toward a similar solution as the GFS. The ECWMF
also continues to be stronger with a low that emerges from south
of the Aleutians by early next week with a more amplified trough
in place. Although these two solutions lead to some differences in
timing/location, especially after after Sunday morning. They were
still utilized for the blend although the means equaled nearly
40/50% of the forecast blend by the end of the extended forecast.
...Sensible Weather...
The daily maximum temperatures will mostly range in the 50s and
60s initially with a warming trend through the coming week; a few
locations may reach the 70s. The overnight lows will have a
cooling trend through the weekend, ranging from the upper 20s to
mid 40 before beginning to warm back up to the 30s to lower 50s.
There will be occasional breaks in the cloud cover, but most areas
will be mostly cloudy to overcast. Much of the southern coastal
areas and the Southeast will be in a prolonged wet period with
multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms. Prolonged onshore
flow aided by impulses aloft that will enhance lift and
instability will help generate periods of higher intensity
rainfall. Given the span of time these moderate to heavy rains are
expected there may be areas that receive excessive rainfall and
develop localized flooding concerns. There is potential exists for
some locations to pick up 4-8 inch rainfall totals.
Campbell
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
- Heavy rain across portions of the Alaska Panhandle and mainland
Alaska, Fri-Sun, Jul 22-Jul 24.
- Much below normal temperatures across portions of mainland
Alaska, Fri-Sat, Jul 22-Jul 23.
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