Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
726 PM EDT Sat Sep 10 2022
Valid 12Z Wed Sep 14 2022 - 12Z Sun Sep 18 2022
...Gulf of Alaska system to offer a heavy precipitation threat for
south-central and southeast Alaska into Wednesday/Thursday...
...Bering Sea storm heavy precipitation/winds/waves threat to
reach west/southwest Alaska Thursday/Friday, then Gulf of Alaska
and southern then southeast Alaska Friday/next weekend, adding
tropical moisture...
...Guidance/Predictability Assessment...
Model and ensemble solutions generally agree at mid-larger scales
to develop potent systems both over the Gulf of Alaska and
upstream over the Bering Sea Wednesday/Thursday, albeit with less
uniformity with small-mid scale interactions/details over the
Bering Sea and vicinity. A combination of the 12 UTC GEFS/ECMWF
ensemble means and 12 UTC GFS/ECMWF seem to provide a good
forecast basis for these systems during this period. Forecast
spread then increases rapidly through the rest of next week across
much of the Alaskan forecast domain in a pattern with ample threat
potential, but lowered mid-smaller scale system predictability.
Accordingly, the still compatible 12 UTC GEFS/ECMWF ensemble means
were primarily used for production of the WPC product suite along
with the 19 UTC National Blend of Models, but I applied manual
adjustments to mitigate blend process weakening of the low,
QPF/PoPs and winds to account for the potential for deeper
offshore storms and the inclusion of impacts from at least the
moisture from newly developed Tropical Depression Fifteen-W that
is forecast to become a Typhoon over the west-central Pacific over
the next few days and then enter the westerlies toward Alaska into
mid-later next week as a increasingly sheared but deeply moist
extratropical system.
...Pattern Overview and Weather/Hazards Highlights...
There remains a strong guidance signal that ample energies
associated with a deep upper level low/surface cyclone in the
Bering Sea will increasingly transfer into the Gulf of Alaska and
linger into/past next midweek. This will keep much of
south-central and southeast Alaska wet and unsettled. Onshore
winds ahead of an occluded cyclone and cold front moving through
the Aleutians and into the Gulf of Alaska will transport moisture
and help focus several days of rainfall, heavy at times, along the
southern Coast and inland down through the Panhandle, with heavy
snow in the higher elevations. Multi-day rainfall totals of 3 to
4+ inches are possible.
There is an emerging guidance signal that an upstream upper low
will subsequently work into the Bering Sea into Wednesday/Thursday
along with a rapidly deepening surface low/frontal system. This
system offers quite an increased threat of enhanced rain/waves and
gale winds for maritime threats and inland across the Aleutians
and then the western/southwestern mainland into Friday. The main
storm threat focus will re-focus more over the northern Gulf of
Alaska, the Alaskan Peninsula, Kodiak Island and southern Alaska
Friday into next weekend. Activity/threat may then be further
enhanced downstream with an uncertain influx of deep Fifteen-W
moisture that may work rapidly from the west-central Pacific to
the Gulf of Alaska and southeast Alaska into next weekend.
Increased NBM QPF for this period, but the potential is higher
dependent on the uncertain tropical connection.
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