Alaska Extended Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 255 PM EDT Sun Jun 03 2018 Valid 12Z Thu Jun 07 2018 - 12Z Mon Jun 11 2018 Strong upper ridging over Siberia (near 70N/120E) with elongated ridging north of Hawai'i along 35N will favor lower heights along 50N from just south of the Aleutians into the Gulf of Alaksa. This progressive pattern will take a lead system into the Panhandle on Friday before another heads out of the northern Central Pacific late in the week Fri/Sat. The recent GFS runs compared fairly well with the 00Z ECMWF and the ensemble means to start the period, but then diverged a bit (12Z) whereas the 06Z GFS was a closer fit to the 00Z ECMWF and the ensemble means. The 12Z GFS was mostly in line with the ensembles over much of the mainland/interior. Favored the 00Z ECMWF ensemble mean by next Sun/Mon which maintained a better system progression/intensity compared to the GEFS mean. The focus for rain will be mostly over the Panhandle and ALeutians but also through the interior with daytime instability (LIs near and just below zero everyday). Temperatures will generally be near to above average. Fracasso WPC medium range Alaskan products including 500mb, surface fronts/pressures progs and sensible weather grids can be found at: http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/alaska/ak_5dayfcst500_wbg.gif www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/alaska/akmedr.shtml http://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/alaska/ak_5km_gridsbody.html