


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Juneau, AK
Issued by NWS Juneau, AK
719 FXAK67 PAJK 032315 AFDAJK Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Juneau AK 315 PM AKDT Wed Sep 3 2025 .SHORT TERM.../ through Thursday night / No major changes to ongoing forecast. High pressure ridge is keeping the dry weather in place. A low level marine deck is along the west coast of Prince of Wales and into southern Clarence Strait, and expect the clouds to spread north overnight. Patches of fog may develop in the normal regions, but anticipate it in Hoonah and perhaps of Gustavus. .LONG TERM... Slightly cooler trend, increased cloud cover, and a slight chance of rain returns to the panhandle. First, an upper level overview: the retrograded upper level low will looks to be centered in the central gulf by Friday, which will ensure the high pressure at the surface will stick around at least into the early weekend, keeping temperatures elevated. Upstream, a strong upper level low in the Aleutians looks to enhance the ridging near Kodiak Island, which in turn looks to push out our central gulf upper level low further south. By early this weekend, a cold front looks to push across the northern gulf, associated a shortwave trough moving eastward in wake of the upper level low that moved southeast. This will be the main driver of both cloud cover, increased chances of rain, and cooler temperatures. For rain, not expecting high chances for rain, as moisture is expected to below. Therefore, keeping rain chances low (20%-30% chance), and currently not expecting these to raise any higher. These chances look to be predominantly in the NE gulf coast and Icy Strait area down to Frederick Sound. Beyond the weekend, ensemble consensus is the return to an active pattern with increased rain and wind. While details are not clear at this time, fall weather does look to be right around the corner. && .AVIATION...The marine layer that filled the vast majority of Clarence Strait this morning has retreated to the far southern end or otherwise lifted and thinned out as of Wednesday afternoon across the southern panhandle. Expect IFR CIGS from this stout marine layer to return Wednesday night in similar areas along the southern panhandle with a high likelihood of it spreading even further north Thursday morning, impacting more of the central Panhandle as far north as Sumner Strait, as well as Sitka along the outer coast. This will likely lead to it lasting longer into Thursday afternoon for the far southern panhandle. Elsewhere in the northern inner channels, VFR conditions will remain dominant with afternoon sea breezes and drainage winds overnight being the only notable features. Strongest winds Wednesday up to and around 15kts and isolated gusts up to 25kts are possible under any sea breeze interactions in the afternoon in some locations. No LLWS concerns through the TAF period. && .MARINE... Outside: Little change from yesterday. High pressure continues to control our skies here in SE AK. West to Northwest winds for the northern coastal area of 15 to 20 kt, while south of southern Baranof Island, wind are a southerly 10 kt. The swell remains out of the south at 3 ft and 10-16 seconds. These wind waves are being driven by fresh to strong breezes (17 to 27 knots) out of the NW, highest winds off the coast of PoW and Cape Fairweather. Wind speeds look to decrease for the second half of the week as the high pressure weakens. Inside: Sea breezes continue to be the primary concern for the inner channels over the next 48 hours. Reported winds speeds have been getting up to around 10 to 20 kts in the usual trouble spots, Near Point Couverden, the tighter spots in Stephen`s Passage, and in Southern Chatham Strait. Winds should calm down during the overnight and stay lighter into Thursday morning before picking back up again for the afternoon. Wind speeds look to decrease for the second half of the week as the high pressure weakens. && .AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PUBLIC...Heat Advisory until 7 PM AKDT this evening for AKZ319-325. MARINE...None. && $$ SHORT TERM...Bezenek LONG TERM...NC AVIATION...STJ MARINE...Bezenek Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau