textproduct: Anchorage

LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7: Friday through Monday)

The highly amplified pattern continues through this weekend. High pressure centered south of the Aleutian Islands along with low pressure in the eastern Gulf of Alaska will keep gusty gap winds persistent across the Alaska Peninsula and through the western Gulf. Winds in general will be weaker than this past weekend and early this week, with a messier pattern of weaker shortwave troughs aloft. Temperatures remain below average across Southcentral Alaska, with the coldest area being the Copper River Basin, where ambient temperatures will hover in the range of 30 to 40 below zero. Southwest Alaska, however, will see warmer, somewhat moist air ride up and over the ridge. A weak disturbance moving through Southwest Alaska on Thursday exits into the Gulf on Friday, leaving some lingering upslope snow showers, primarily along the Kuskokwim Mountains and Western Alaska Range. The passing wave could also lead to a brief increase in winds out of gaps. Heading into the weekend, a series of low pressure systems track up the coast of Far Eastern Russia toward Western Alaska. This increases chances for precipitation in Southwest Alaska Saturday night into Monday. Precipitation is likely to be mostly snow, though rain is possible along the coast, and is increasingly likely southward along the Alaska Peninsula. By Sunday, these lows advect warmer air into the area, with temperatures rising into the 20s and low 30s for much of mainland Southwest Alaska. Southcentral Alaska looks to remain mostly dry and downsloped in northwesterly flow, though some isolated snow showers cannot be ruled out this weekend.

Quesada

AVIATION

PANC...VFR will prevail through the TAF period. Strong north/northeast winds will continue to weaken through this evening but will remain around 10 to 15 kt out of the north through tomorrow morning.