textproduct: Fairbanks

KEY MESSAGES

Central and Eastern Interior... - East winds increase on Monday and remain gusty through midweek in Delta Junction, Eagle and higher terrain. Expect wind gusts around 25 to 45 mph, strongest near Delta.

- AK Range gap winds increase to 50 mph from the south Monday night and peak Tuesday into Wednesday, up to 60 mph. - Light snow near Bettles/Brooks Range today, otherwise mostly dry through Wednesday, perhaps light snow showers in the E Interior Wednesday from a low in the Gulf.

West Coast and Western Interior... - East winds increase today and and gust up to 40 mph from the Seward Peninsula south through Tuesday. A few gusts to 55 mph possible near Hooper Bay Monday evening to Tuesday morning.

- Light rain and snow showers expected in the Yukon Delta and St. Lawrence Island through Wednesday afternoon.

- Dry and breezy elsewhere across Western Alaska this week.

North Slope and Brooks Range... - Light snow and stratus meander around the North Slope and Brooks Range through midweek. An inch or 2 of snow possible, highest likelihood in the Brooks Range.

- East winds increase along the coast up to 25 to 45 mph Tuesday through the end of the week, strongest gusts in Point Lay.

SYNOPSIS

The story? Mostly quiet weather with little to no concerns for the foreseeable future. East winds across Northern Alaska along with fairly weak AK Range gap winds will be around this week. There will be areas of light snow and rain in the Yukon Delta and St. Lawrence Island as well as light snow on the North Slope, but there isn't much in the way of noteworthy accumulations. Temperatures will be dropping but remain near or slightly above seasonal norms by the middle of the week, otherwise there isn't too much in the world of Alaska weather today.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT/

The upper level pattern is a bit of a mess over Northern Alaska today with weak troughs and ridges moving from southwest to northeast. Light snow is expected ahead of these troughs with an inch or two possible on the North Slope. Otherwise, the Interior is dry. Winds increase from the east as a low in the Bering drifts over the Central Aleutians and into the Gulf today through Wednesday. The strongest east winds will be over SW AK, in the AK Range and Delta Junction due to a combination of gap winds and a Tanana Valley Jet. From Monday to Wednesday, wind gusts may be as high as 40 to 55 mph near the Yukon Delta and 50 to 60 mph in the Alaska Range Passes. Fortunately there is no snow to blow around, so visibility restrictions are not an issue. The remainder of the Interior will have easterly winds around 15 to 30 mph. Due to the lows in the Gulf, a snow shower is not completely ruled out of the Eastern Interior thanks to some weak wrap around moisture from the southeast.

The North Slope will also be experiencing some increasing wind this week, from the east as well. The strongest will be in Point Lay Tuesday through the end of the week, up to 45 mph, but most of the coast will get some higher wind gusts near 30 mph this week. Light snow will be meandering around the North Slope, but blowing snow and visibility restrictions are not of great concern.

Continuous southeast flow will keep temperatures near to slightly above normal for most of Northern Alaska for at least the next week.

LONG TERM /THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/

An overall benign weather pattern is expected to continue through this weekend, with the main feature driving our pattern being a low tracking through the Gulf Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, this progressively weakens, as it stalls before the Alaska Panhandle, and sends a series of shortwaves into Northern Alaska. The impacts with this storm are limited by the systems strength and track. Due to this, we are only expecting marginal wind gusts along Northern Alaska's Coastline, as well as brief periods of isolated to scattered light snow showers that will persist through the weekend within the Eastern Interior.

Coastal Hazard Potential... No significant concerns for coastal impacts as the storm track remains south of the area, providing mostly off shore winds.

AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

AK...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory from midnight tonight to 6 AM AKST Monday for PKZ801-816-850. Small Craft Advisory from 3 AM to 6 AM AKST Monday for PKZ817. Small Craft Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 6 AM AKST Monday for PKZ851.