Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Fairbanks, AK
Issued by NWS Fairbanks, AK
727 FXAK69 PAFG 062342 AFDAFG Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Fairbanks AK 342 PM AKDT Sat Jun 6 2026 .SYNOPSIS... Quiet and predominantly dry conditions continue across Northern Alaska today, with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms confined to the Alaska Range, Upper Tanana Valley, and Fortymile Country. Changes are on the way as a strong low in the High Arctic ejects a series of shortwaves south, culminating with a cold front late Sunday into Monday. This system will support widespread snow across the North Slope and Brooks Range, where a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for central portions of the range for the Dalton Highway. Farther south, precipitation is expected to be rain in the form of scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, with higher elevations of the Alaska Range expected to see snow. Colder temperatures will accompany this airmass, with below normal temperatures expected to build in early next week. Looking ahead, warmer and drier conditions are expected to return midweek onward as daily isolated showers and thunderstorms persist. && .KEY WEATHER MESSAGES... Central and Eastern Interior... - Gradually cooling temperatures are expected through the weekend into early next week as increasingly scattered showers and isolated thunderstorm chances build in across the Interior. - Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms will remain confined to the Alaska Range, Fortymile Country, and Upper Tanana Valley today, before expanding to the remainder of the Interior Sunday and Monday as a cold front builds in out of the northwest. - Gusty west/southwest winds will increase across the Interior on Sunday, strongest farther north and across higher elevations where gusts up to around 30-40 mph are expected. - Dependent on clearing skies, low temperatures Monday night and Tuesday night will bottom out in the 30s and 40s for most, with coldest valleys dropping to around freezing. We will continue to monitor the potential for frost/freeze headlines for Fairbanks during this timeframe. - Showers will become increasingly isolated starting Tuesday, with warmer and drier conditions building back across the Interior Wednesday onwards as daily isolated showers persist. West Coast and Western Interior... - Dry conditions will continue across Western Alaska through tonight, with highs cooler on the coast in the 30s/40s/50s and warmer inland in the 50s/60s/70s. - A cold front building in out of the northwest on Sunday will support scattered rain and snow showers as a colder airmass builds in. Showers will shift inland and towards the Y-K Delta later in the day Sunday into Monday. Light snow accumulations will remain confined to the Northern Seward Peninsula and NW Arctic Coast. - Colder and drier conditions on Tuesday will give way to a warming trend Wednesday onwards as temperatures return to more seasonable levels with highs rebounding into the 50s/60s/70s regionwide. North Slope and Brooks Range... - Below normal temperatures continue today north of the Brooks Range with highs/lows in the 20s/30s while warmer air remains situated to the south of and in the Brooks Range where highs in the 40s/50s/60s and lows in the 30s/40s continue. - Isolated to scattered rain/snow showers will continue to build in out of the northwest across the North Slope, expanding to the Brooks Range Sunday into Monday as a cold front passes over the region. - Widespread light snow is expected across the Arctic Coast/Plains, with heavier totals in the Brooks Range. A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect tonight through Monday for the Central Brooks Range for snow accumulations of 5-10 inches and wind gusts up to 30 mph. - Behind the Sunday/Monday cold front, isolated to scattered snow showers will continue for Tuesday ahead of warmer and drier conditions returning Wednesday onwards as highs build back into the 50s/60s/70s with 30s/40s along the coast. && .FORECAST ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...Today through Monday Night. Afternoon satellite imagery continues to show broad upper level troughing over Northern Alaska, as mostly dry conditions continue with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms confined to the Upper Tanana, Alaska Range, and Fortymile Country. A 510 dm low in the High Arctic continues to support broadly westerly flow across our region, which will usher in a series of shortwaves over the coming days that will culminate with a cold front Sunday into Monday. This system in the Arctic will be the driver of increasing rain/snow chances first for NW Alaska and the North Slope/Brooks Range, before expanding southeast Sunday into Monday across the Interior where rain/high elevation snow showers will also join with isolated to at times scattered thunderstorms. While rain will be the predominant precipitation type for most, snow is expected across the North Slope, Brooks Range, NW Arctic Coast, and higher elevations of the Alaska Range. We have gone ahead and replaced the Winter Storm Watch for the Central Brooks Range with a Winter Weather Advisory to capture travel impacts along the Dalton Highway from roughly Chandalar Shelf over Atigun to Toolik Lake and Ice Cut Hill. This is where around 5-10 inches of snow is expected with gusts up to 30 mph at pass level. The main limiting factor initially with snow will be the warmer ground temperatures, but that is expected to ultimately be less of a factor later in the day Sunday into Monday as the colder temperatures build in with this system. Farther south across the Interior, models remain in reasonable agreement on showing an increase in area wide scattered showers and thunderstorms on Sunday, with a steadier band of rain moving in Monday along the cold front. Colder temperatures will accompany the front as it works its way south, with lows regionwide in the 20s/30s/40s. We will continue to monitor the potential for frost/freeze headlines for Fairbanks during this timeframe, which will be centered around Monday night and Tuesday night when temperatures are expected to be coldest. Precipitation amounts overall the next several days are expected to remain light for most, generally in that T-0.25" range broadly speaking, with heavier totals in the Alaska Range and Brooks Range where upslope and orographic lifting will play more of a role in driving totals closer to 0.25-0.75". && .EXTENDED FORECAST DAYS 4-7...Tuesday through next Saturday. As a cold front continues to progress southeast across the Interior for Tuesday, colder and drier conditions will begin to steadily build in out of the northwest. Long range models remain in reasonable agreement midweek in showing the low in the High Arctic weakening and elongating as a series of ridges of high pressure (one in the Bering and another in the NE Pacific) begin to slowly lift north. This setup will remain favorable for warmer and drier conditions returning to Northern Alaska, with sufficient moisture in place to keep at least some isolated showers/storms around. Overall, look for a warmer and drier pattern to return mid to late week across our region with lighter winds overall. Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None && .FIRE WEATHER... Isolated thunderstorms are initiating off of high terrain in the southeast Interior and will continue through Saturday afternoon. As winds carry storms generally eastward, storms will move over areas of lower elevation, where the roughly 7000ft high mixing layer will allow time for precipitation to evaporate before it reaches the ground. As a result, there may be dry lightning strikes and strong gusts associated with the downdrafts of these storms. Sunday, a band of vorticity being stretched from from the middle Kuskokwim Valley to the Yukon Flats will help isolated thunderstorms develop over that area, with the highest likelihood in the Eastern Interior. After Sunday, thunderstorm coverage is pushed back into the Southeast corner of the Interior as a cold and dry air mass digs down over Northern Alaska through the middle of the week. Speaking of the arctic air mass, it is presently keeping the Northwest parts of Alaska cool, highs under 60F with lows below freezing. The cold temperatures will suppress fire activity for the near future and a cold front will begin to swing southeast across the state on Monday. As it does, it will bring widespread, light showers through the day Monday. Behind the front temperatures will be cool, low 60Fs of below for most of Northern Alaska, but also dry with minimum relative humidities in Interior Valleys bottoming out in the 20s after the showers end on Tuesday. && .HYDROLOGY... Sagavanirktok, Colville, and Kuparuk Rivers Below normal temperatures continue across the North Slope, with APRFC`s breakup map continuing to show some open to mostly open water on the Sag, Colville, and Kuparuk Rivers outside of immediately along the Arctic Coast where mostly ice remains in place. Colder temperatures will remain in place through early next week with warming temperatures expected Tuesday onwards. By as soon as Thursday and Friday, highs in the 50s and 60s will be in place across the Arctic Plains with 30s/40s along the Arctic Coast. This will likely accelerate snowmelt and lead to rises on North Slope rivers. With the recent cooldown and drop overall in most river levels, this will likely give enough room for new snowmelt to join the channels and help mitigate any significant flooding concerns at this time. For the latest breakup information, visit weather.gov/aprfc. && .AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... AK...Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ809. PK...None. && $$ SYNOPSIS.......MacKay KEY MESSAGES...MacKay SHORT TERM.....MacKay LONG TERM......MacKay FIRE WEATHER...Troyke HYDROLOGY......MacKay