Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Juneau, AK
Issued by NWS Juneau, AK
098 FXAK67 PAJK 071610 CCA AFDAJK Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Juneau AK 810 AM AKDT Mon Sep 7 2026 .SYNOPSIS... Key Messages: - Seasonable temperatures continue across the panhandle with highs in the in upper 50s to low 60s. - A return to a more active weather pattern with multiple fronts pushing through southeast Alaska early this week. - Stronger front brings widespread moderate to heavy rain and some wind for Tuesday. && .SHORT TERM.../Through Tuesday night/ Short range forecast features two fronts moving through the area with most of the effects being felt along the northern Gulf and Panhandle through Tuesday night. The first of these fronts is, as of 4 am, over the central gulf and moving east. It is already bringing rain to the Yakutat area and has shifted wind directions in much of the Gulf to southerly. Expect this front to continue to push east through Monday night spreading rain and breezy conditions across the NE gulf coast and northern panhandle as it comes. Highest rainfall amounts will be along the NE gulf coast with around an inch of rain expected through late Monday night. Northern Panhandle will see more along the lines of around a quarter of an inch. Winds are not that impressive with this initial front either with the highest winds out in the gulf near Cape Suckling peaking around 25 kt today. Inner channels winds will wait until Monday night to start increasing, but even then they will only top out around 10 to 20 kt with the highest winds in Lynn Canal. A second front will be coming in behind the first on Tuesday. It is the stronger of the two system featuring stronger winds and heavier rain as it pulls moisture from farther south than previous systems. Heavier rainfall will begin at Yakutat Tuesday morning and spread east across the panhandle through Tuesday night. The main axis of moisture will not be pointed at any one place for very long though with most areas likely seeing around 6 to 9 hours of being under the heaviest rainfall before it moves off to the east. So while we are expecting moderate to heavy rain rates on the order of around 0.2 inches per hour in the heavier rain it will not last long enough in any one area to accumulate more then 1 to 2.5 inches (possibly up to 3 inches at higher elevations) from Tuesday morning into Wednesday morning. Winds will be the other feature of concern with this front. More widespread winds of 25 to 30 kt are expected across the gulf Tuesday and northern inner channel southerly winds will be kicking up to 25 kt by Tuesday afternoon with Lynn Canal likely seeing min gale force. Wind on land will be on the rise too with gusts reaching 25 to 30 kt for many northern inner channel locations. Skagway will likely see higher gusts up to 40 to 45 kt. Highest winds will be from Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening. Both winds and rain will start diminishing late Tuesday night as the front starts to moves out of the area. .LONG TERM.../ Wednesday through Sunday / The weather front continues to continues to move east-Southeast then into the Canadian coastal waters Wednesday morning. Onshore flow will have showers, but there will be improving conditions Thursday as a ridge builds and brings a couple day break in the weather to weekend. Temperatures for a fair portion of the area warming to the 60s and possibly to near 70 degrees. As the weekend progresses the ridge flattens headed to Sunday, and may see some weather start possible sweep into the zonal flow beginning to set up but has not yet reached the panhandle. && .AVIATION... A series of fronts are currently working their way into the region, with the first weaker system expected to push through the Panhandle Monday. Anticipate MVFR -RA along the coast to continue to diminish this afternoon to IFR, with MVFR -RA becoming prevalent across much of the inside. CIGS of 800ft to 2000ft are the primary threat, with -RA diminishing VSBY 3SM to 5SM. Tuesday morning a much stronger band of rain arrives along the northern coast, spreading east into the Panhandle by Tuesday afternoon. This system will be responsible for driving strong surface winds, primarily focused in the central and northern Panhandle. && .MARINE... Gulf Waters: A majority of the eastern gulf has seen wind directions shift to more of a southerly direction overnight as a new front moves into the area. As of 4 am only areas E of 135W are still westerly and those areas should flip to the south as well by afternoon. In the meantime the southerly winds will be increasing to around 20 kt today (with a small area of 25 kt near Cape Suckling). There will be a brief lull in winds speeds Monday night before the next stronger front moves in from the W on Tuesday. This front will bring more widespread S winds to 25 to 30 kt which will last into Tuesday night while switching to a more Westerly direction. Seas are rather low (6 ft or less) across most of the eastern gulf, but they are starting to build in the central gulf. Expect a steady building trend up to 9 to 12 ft by Tuesday night from a combination of higher winds building wind wave, and an increased W swell up to 5 to 6 ft through Wednesday. Inner Channels: The inner channels are mostly quiet currently with light winds and low seas. This will not last as two fronts move through the area through Tuesday night. The first front on Monday night will increase winds, but not by much and will mainly affect the northern channels. S winds will likely increase to around 10 to 20 kt and seas building to 3 to 5 ft Monday night with the highest winds and seas in Lynn Canal. There will not be a break before the next stronger front moves in on Tuesday and winds (especially across the north) will just get stronger. The inner channels from Frederick Sound northward will likely see winds increase to around 25 kt with seas building to around 5 ft by Tuesday afternoon. Again the highest winds and seas will be in Lynn Canal where min gale force southerly winds are expected Tuesday afternoon into Tuesday evening. Expect winds and seas to start diminishing late Tuesday night into Wednesday as the front moves out of the area. && .AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PUBLIC...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory for PKZ012-652-663-664-671-672. && $$ SHORT TERM...EAL LONG TERM...Bezenek AVIATION...AP MARINE...EAL Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/Juneau