Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
734 PM EDT Tue Nov 1 2022
Valid 12Z Sat Nov 5 2022 - 12Z Wed Nov 9 2022
...Synoptic Scale Overview...
The strong low pressure system that'll initially be over the
eastern Gulf region for the end of the week is forecast to move
towards the southeast and away from the region for the weekend,
with precipitation abating in intensity for most of the coastal
areas. An impressive upper level ridge and corresponding surface
high will evolve across the mainland with an omega block type
pattern likely developing going into early next week, with surface
pressures perhaps reaching 1050mb across portions of the Interior!
There will be some shortwave/frontal passages across the
Aleutians and the Bering, although the eastward progress of these
will be limited by the big high to the east.
...Guidance/Predictability Assessment and Preferences...
Overall, the model guidance shows fairly good agreement at the
start of the forecast period this weekend, and there is also
strong agreement in the ensemble guidance for the high latitude
ridge axis that develops. The greatest degree of forecast
uncertainty resides west of this ridge across the Bering and the
Aleutians where a few shortwave perturbations will track
northwestward, although none of these appear to be strong in the
guidance at this juncture. It appears the 18Z run of the GFS
tries to break down the ridge axis sooner than the CMC/ECMWF, but
the ensemble means suggest the ridge axis will remain robust
through about Wednesday. In terms of model preferences, a
multi-deterministic blend sufficed through Sunday, followed by
gradually increasing portions of the GEFS/EC means early next
week.
...Sensible Weather and Potential Hazards...
The strong atmospheric river will be subsiding by the end of the
week, but some lingering precipitation will continue to affect
portions of the southeast Panhandle region early Saturday with
valley rain and mountain snow. On the northwest side of the Gulf
surface low, gusty northerly winds may end up creating a gap wind
event across southeast Alaska and result in high winds, affecting
portions of the coastal region. By this weekend into early next
week, high pressure will be large and in charge across much of the
mainland with little in the way of snow or wind. This will also
produce a very strong low level temperature inversion for the
Interior valleys, with readings well below typical early November
levels and very little mixing with the warmer air aloft. Some
locations will likely remain subzero for a few days across the
Yukon Flats of the eastern Interior, mainly Saturday through
Monday. Northern Alaska may end up being near or slightly above
normal for temperatures where there will be less of an inversion
to deal with north of the Brooks Range.
Hamrick
- High winds across portions of the Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak
Island, Fri-Sat, Nov 4-Nov 5.
- High winds across portions of the Alaska Southeast Panhandle,
Sat-Sun, Nov 5-Nov 6.
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