Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service College Park MD
624 PM EDT Sat Jun 21 2025
Valid 12Z Wed 25 Jun 2025 - 12Z Sun 29 Jun 2025
...General Overview...
The pesky omega-style blocking pattern across the Alaskan domain
and vicinity is forecast to relax a bit beginning early next
week. The now familiar upper-level anticyclone centered over
mainland Alaska is forecast to retreat southeastward as a deep
upper low downstream moves away into the Pacific Northwest through
the short-range period. It appears that the retreated upper high
will reestablish near/over the northeast corner of Alaska early
next week and then progress northward into the Arctic Ocean
midweek. Meanwhile, the Bering Sea mean closed upper low should
slide very slowly east-southeast toward the eastern Aleutians
and approach the Alaskan Peninsula through next week into next
weekend. Relatively weak waves or triple-point lows are forecast
to eject eastward across the North Pacific and with downstream
energy transfer consolidate over the Gulf of Alaska into next
weekend as the retreated upper ridge will remain over
northeastern Alaska and the Yukon territories.
...Guidance Evaluation/Preferences...
Prefer a blend of reasonably well clustered guidance of the 12 UTC
GFS/ECMWF/Canadian/UKMET (60%) and respective ensemble means (40%)
in a pattern with above normal predictability and WPC product
continuity through medium range time scales. Opted to manually
deepen mainly offshore surface low pressure systems as warranted
by favorable upper support to offset weakening inherent to a broad
blending process as used today.
...Weather/Hazards Highlights...
It generally remains the case that With the anticipated retreat
of the upper high over mainland Alaska, the afternoon heat across
the Yukon Flats is forecast to moderate early next week, with high
temperatures falling into the 70s. Underneath the retreating
upper high, there will also be a lingering lower-level front
across northern Alaska where scattered showers and thunderstorms
are expected daily along the Brooks Range and across the eastern
Interior including Fairbanks through next week. Daily rainfall
amounts could locally exceed one inch across portions of the
eastern Interior. This rainfall may prove helpful to mitigate some
of the ongoingt wildfire risk as temperatures moderate.
The southern coastline and the Panhandle should be relatively dry
leading into midweek. However, rain associated with the next
cyclone should be moving through the Aleutians from west to east
by then as rain chances increase along the Alaska Peninsula.
Farther offshore, as low pressure waves/triple-point lows eject
eastward across the Gulf of Alaska, rainy weather can be expected
to reach the southern coastline and the Panhandle from west to
east through the remainder of next week. The southwestern coastal
areas, eastern Aleutians and the Peninsula can expect more
widespread rainfall midweek next week when the Bering Sea low
edges closer. By late next week, there is a potential for
localized heavy rainfall across the climatologically rainy region
of the Kenai Peninsula and eastern Alaska Peninsula as the Gulf of
Alaska low is forecast to become more dominant. Temperature-
wise, seasonable conditions are expected near the southern coast
and the larger cities, with highs generally in the 50s and 60s.
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