Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Fairbanks, AK
Issued by NWS Fairbanks, AK
545 FXAK69 PAFG 261500 AFDAFG Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 700 AM AKDT Wed Jun 26 2024 .SYNOPSIS... An active summer pattern brings continued fire weather concerns to Interior Alaska, warm temperatures and even thunderstorms to the North Slope Thursday and Friday, and a highly unusual Bering Sea low south of the Bering Strait. Today and Thursday will be the warmest days in the Interior, with slight cooling on Friday. Dry thunderstorms are likely today from Eagle to Tok and east to the Alcan Border. A banner day for thunderstorms is expected Thursday with scattered thunderstorms from the Western Brooks Range to Fairbanks to the Alcan Border. && .DISCUSSION... Analysis and Model Discussion... Models initialized well when compared to observations at the surface and aloft. We will use a blend of models for this forecast package. Notable updates we`ll make are to increase southerly gap winds south of Healy to 15 knots sustained through Thursday evening. We will knock high temperatures down a couple of degrees across the central and eastern Interior today after temperatures came up a couple degrees short of the forecasted high yesterday and smoke continues to linger. We will update the smoke forecast and generally follow the HRRR-smoke model for guidance, with a few changes. We will update the thunderstorm forecast for Friday to include scattered thunderstorms across a large area of the North Slope. Central and Eastern Interior...Hot and dry conditions with afternoon and evening thunderstorms continue with highs reaching the low to mid 80s. Wednesday will be the hottest day of the week with highs in the upper 80s to near 90. Thursday will be slightly cooler, but expect an increase in thunderstorm activity especially south and west of the Yukon Flats. West Coast and Western Interior...Warm and mostly dry conditions persist. Expect southeast winds 15 to 25 mph from Nome south late today as a strong low pressure system resides in the Bering Sea. The front will bring little in the way of precipitation with only light rain expected along the Yukon Delta. Thursday looks to be a very big thunderstorm day from east of Kotzebue to Huslia and southeast. The aforementioned low pressure system in the Bering Sea will bring elevated surf 1 to 2 feet above the normal high tide line along the Yukon Delta coast as well as south facing shorelines south of the Bering Strait including Nome. Water will be elevated Wed-Fri with multiple water level peaks as storm surge values remain fairly constant and tides go in and out. North Slope and Brooks Range...Warm temperatures will extend north all the way to the Arctic Coast on Wednesday and Thursday as the ridge moves north over the Arctic Coast. Isolated thunderstorms are expected even up to the Arctic Coast on Wednesday. Thunderstorm activity will increase in the Brooks Range and on the Western North Slope on Thursday. Friday will bring scattered thunderstorms west of Umiat. East winds 15 to 20 mph are expected along the coast Thursday night and Friday morning. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None && .FIRE WEATHER... Widely scattered dry thunderstorms are expected this afternoon from Eagle to Tok and east to the Alcan Border as a shortwave moves off the upper level high center from the east. Today will be the hottest and driest day of the week with highs expected to reach the mid to upper 80s across most of the Interior. Min RHs will be 20-25% east of Tanana and slightly higher to the west. Outside of the widely scattered dry thunderstorms in the eastern Interior, isoalted thunderstorms are expected across the rest of the Interior, Brooks Range, and eastern Arctic Coast. Widely scattered thunderstorms are expected from Huslia to Tanana to Poorman to Galena. On Thursday, Red Flag Warnings for both hot/dry/windy conditions and for lightning are in effect as the ridge shifts north to the Arctic Coast as a strong low in the Bering Sea pushes further north. This will tighten the gradient and cause east winds 10 to 20 mph across the northern Interior. It will still be plenty hot and dry, so have gone ahead with a Red Flag Warning for hot/dry/windy conditions across the northern Interior. Thursday may also be the largest lightning day of the year so far as scattered thunderstorms are expected to form along a boundary between the Bering low and the Interior ridge extending from the Western Brooks Range to Fairbanks to the Alcan Border. Red Flag Warnings for lightning are in effect for the central and eastern Interior. Isolated thunderstorms are expected even up to the Arctic Coast. On Friday, the same shortwave will impact the central Brooks Range, bringing widely scattered thunderstorms from Atqasuk to Anaktuvuk Pass to Livengood and east to Eagle. Scattered thunderstorms are even expected on the western North Slope. Temperatures will be 2 to 5 degrees cooler than Thursday across the area and minimum RH 5-10% higher. && .HYDROLOGY... Glacial fed rivers including the Tanana are beginning to rise as warming temperatures lead to increased high elevation snowmelt. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AK...Dense Smoke Advisory for AKZ839-840-844. PK...Gale Warning for PKZ801-850. Small Craft Advisory for PKZ802. Small Craft Advisory for PKZ816-853. Small Craft Advisory for PKZ817. Small Craft Advisory for PKZ851. Small Craft Advisory for PKZ854. && $$ CHRIEST