Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service College Park MD
759 PM EDT Thu Oct 30 2025
Valid 12Z Mon 03 Nov 2025 - 12Z Fri 07 Nov 2025
...Synoptic Overview...
The synoptic pattern in the Alaskan domain continues to favor
fast-moving cyclones to track west to east through the Aleutians
then gradually dissipate over the Gulf of Alaska as a negatively-
tilted upper ridge remains stationary across eastern mainland
Alaska and further up into the Arctic Ocean in the form of an
omega block.
...Guidance Evaluation and Preferences...
The ensemble means from the ECMWF, GEFS, and CMC show reasonable
agreement on the above-mentioned synoptic pattern evolution
through the medium-range period. Much of the uncertainty has to do
with the timing of a couple of cyclones that are forecast to
move from west to east through the Aleutians from early to middle
of next week. The GFS has sped up the fast-moving cyclone that is
forecast to pass south of the eastern Aleutians early on Monday in
much better agreement with the ECMWF and CMC. For the next cyclone
in line, the GFS is near the slow end of the model spread
followed by the UKmet, while the ECMWF and CMC are near the fast
end of the spectrum moving farther and farther apart with each
other to a distance of a few hundred miles to the east by Day 8.
These model spread characteristics are similar to those noted in
the preceding cyclone. By the end of the medium-range period,
both the deterministic and ensemble means show decent agreement on
the next significant cyclone to track along the Aleutians with
the GFS/GEFS cluster placing the cyclone center just off to the
south of the central Aleutians, while the EC/CMC cluster remains
farther south and with a much faster forward motion. It was also
noted that the 00Z ECMWF solution for this cyclone appears to be
an anomaly. This is in contrast to the 12Z ECMWF solution which
shows a more classical evolution of an occluding cyclone, which
closely resembles that in the 12Z UKmet, placing the center of the
cyclone farther to the southeast than the GFS solutions. By Day
8, the EC and CMC move the cyclone much closer to the Alaska
Panhandle and the west coast of Canada while the GFS solution of
the cyclone has yet to reach the Gulf of Alaska.
The Alaska forecast package begins with a general model consensus
on Day 4 but is then nudged toward the faster EC and CMC by Day 6
with 50% from the 12Z ECMWF/00Z EC mean, 25% from the 12Z CMC/CMC
mean, and 25% from the 12Z GFS/GEFS. This blend yielded an isobaric
pattern reasonably compatible with yesterday's WPC forecasts.
...Weather/Hazards Highlights...
The medium-range period will begin with a clipper cyclone
beginning to swiftly move away to the southeast of the eastern
Aleutians early on Monday of next week. Tuesday and Wednesday
should see impacts from the next cyclone moving into the
Aleutians. The predicted pressure pattern appears to favor high
winds on the back side of this system. Therefore, the "High
Winds" area has been retained on the WPC Hazards Outlook map for
the central to eastern Aleutians on Day 7 Wednesday 11/5 when the
center of the cyclone is forecast to pass to the south.
Precipitation amounts appear modest due to the speed of the
system.
Light to locally moderate precipitation will likely linger along
the southern and southeastern coastal Alaska as the medium-range
period begins. This modest precipitation pattern is forecast to
continue through the remainder of the medium-range period as
the parade of cyclones arriving from the Pacific are forecast
to weaken prior to reaching the ridge axis that is forecast to
anchor across eastern mainland Alaska and into Yukon Territories.
Temperatures will be mostly above average for much of Alaska to
start out the medium-range period. Gradual clearing skies will
allow temperatures to return closer to normal for interior
mainland Alaska while clouds and precipitation associated with the
next cyclone will keep high temperatures cooler than normal
across the West and Southwest as next week progresses.
Kong
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