Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion
NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD
434 PM EDT Fri May 19 2023
Valid 12Z Tue May 23 2023 - 12Z Sat May 27 2023
...Synoptic Overview and Guidance Evaluation...
Ridging across mainland AK will slowly erode as disturbances round
a persistent deep layer cyclone in the southern Bering Sea. The
12Z model guidance suite is initially in decent synoptic scale
agreement across the Alaska domain with some minor differences in
features. To deal with the small discrepancies, used a blend of
the 12z UKMET, 12z Canadian, 12z GFS, and 12z ECMWF for fronts,
pressures, and wind early on before blending in some 00z ECMWF and
12z NAEFS ensemble mean thereafter. QPF was an even blend of the
19z NBM, 12z ECMWF, 12z GFS, and 12z Canadian. The remainder of
the grids were the 19z NBM with some 12z ECMWF thrown into the
mix. Overall, this kept reasonable continuity.
...Sensible Weather and Potential Hazards...
A large, slow moving upper low will produce precipitation from the
Alaskan Peninsula and the southern mainland coastline to the upper
Alaskan Panhandle on May 22nd and May 23rd, with the areas most
likely to witness the heavier rainfall totals stretching from the
eastern Aleutians and the Alaskan Peninsula to Kodiak Island and
Katmai National Park. Precipitation will primarily be in the form
of rain, but the higher terrain of Katmai National Park and Katmai
Wilderness could receive heavy snow.
High water levels due to ice jams and snow melt in both the Yukon
and Kuskokwim rivers still pose a
threat for additional flooding into next week. Above average
spring temperatures will continue for
the central/eastern Interior as an upper-level ridge remains in
place over northern Alaska into
next week. This prolonged period of abnormally mild temperatures
is expected to cause additional
snowmelt and subsequent rises in water levels that could still be
high enough in spots to cause
localized flooding.
Roth/Russell
Hazards:
- Heavy precipitation across portions of mainland Alaska, Mon-Tue,
May 22-May 23.
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