Ice Forecast
Issued by NWS Anchorage, AK
Issued by NWS Anchorage, AK
961 FZAK80 PAFC 232255 ICEAFC Sea Ice Forecast for Western and Arctic Alaskan Coastal Waters National Weather Service - Alaska Sea Ice Program 254 PM AKDT Monday 23 September 2024 FORECAST VALID...Saturday 28 September 2024 ANALYSIS CONFIDENCE...High to moderate. SYNOPSIS...Low pressure will remain over the Beaufort Sea through Friday. Then drift north on Saturday as high pressure builds over the southern Beaufort Sea. The main ice edge extends from Russian waters to 72 48N 170 27W to 72 58N 166 59W to 74 28N 170 6W to 76 15N 165 19W to 77 23N 140 54W and continues in Canadian waters. The ice edge is open water. Sea ice also lingers off the north coast of the Chukchi Peninsula and at times moves into Alaska waters between the Bering Strait and Point Hope. From land-based points in Alaska, the main ice edge extends from 270 nm west of Point Barrow to 205 nm west-northwest of Point Barrow to 300 nm northwest of Point Barrow to 440 nm north of Demarcation Point and continues in Canadian waters. The ice edge is open water. Sea ice also lingers off the northern coast of the Chukchi Peninsula and at times moves into Alaska waters between the Bering Strait and Point Hope. -BEAUFORT SEA- PKZ505-Central US Arctic Offshore- PKZ510-Eastern US Arctic Offshore- FORECAST FOR THE BEAUFORT SEA (DAYS 1 through 5)...Forecast confidence is moderate. Winds will generally be northerly to easterly through Tuesday, then the easterly winds will spread west across the remaining ice pack. Winds then shift back to northerly over the western Beaufort Sea Thursday and Friday, and westerly winds will develop Saturday as the low moves north. Overall, expect the ice pack to drift with these winds, though there will be times when winds are light that the sea ice will drift more with local currents. New ice will continue to form along the edge of the main ice pack, bringing the overall ice edge up to 20 nm south through Saturday. -CHUKCHI SEA- PKZ500-Western US Arctic Offshore- PKZ505-Central US Arctic Offshore- FORECAST FOR THE CHUKCHI SEA (DAYS 1 through 5)...Forecast confidence is moderate. Northerly to northwesterly winds will persist through Saturday. Sea ice will generally drift southeast 20 to 30 nm through the forecast period and new sea ice will likely form along the ice edge. && Schreck