textproduct: Anchorage

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

An upper level trough moving across western Alaska is expected to dip south into the Gulf on Friday. This will transition the pattern to a more amplified setup, with strong ridging building over the Bering while a deeper trough develops across the Gulf of Alaska. The trough will bring in an arctic airmass, spreading across much of the Southwest and into Southcentral Alaska.

Conditions tend drier from Friday into the weekend as the ridge strengthens. Clearing combined with cold air in place will support radiational cooling and colder overnight lows. In addition, northerly winds are expected to increase through most coastal gaps along the Gulf coast as cold dense air moves south towards lower pressure in over the Gulf. Although confidence in strength and timing remains low at this time, the communities of Valdez, Seward, and the Matanuska Valley will likely see strong winds through the weekend.

By late Sunday into Monday, the ridge begins to shift east as a new low moves into the Bering Sea. Precipitation chances may begin to return to the western portions of Alaska, though confidence in timing remains low.

LM

AVIATION

PANC...VFR conditions and light northerly winds will prevail through the TAF period. Vicinity fog is possible again this evening; however, the extent of any fog will be highly dependent on the amount of high cloud cover moving over the terminal beginning tonight. A few flurries are possible overnight tonight into early Tuesday morning.