textproduct: Fairbanks

KEY MESSAGES

Central and Eastern Interior... - Lingering snow showers in the Eastern Interior, ending this afternoon. Scattered snow showers near Bettles and Coldfoot developing this afternoon.

- A few mixed precipitation showers possible on Tuesday but no significant concerns for any ice accretion. Then another chance for light snow in the Eastern Interior on Wednesday.

- Temperatures continue cooling but not to the extent to what was previously thought. Most places see highs in the upper 30s and low 40s this week.

West Coast and Western Interior... - Light rain showers persist in Western Alaska through Wednesday and mainly dry out on Thursday.

- Northeast winds increase in the Bering Strait, gusting up to 45 mph this afternoon through at least Thursday morning.

- Temperatures gradually drop by 1-2F each day through Thursday.

North Slope and Brooks Range... - Light snow along the coast today with 1 inch or less expected, it moves to the Arctic Plains/Kaktovik tomorrow with 1-2 inches of snow.

- Breezy along the Chukchi Sea Coast today into tomorrow with gusts around 20 to 35 mph, strongest near Point Hope.

- Mostly quiet weather persists through the end of the week.

SYNOPSIS

While the weather isn't necessarily quiet, it is mainly uneventful with areas of rain showers on the West Coast, snow showers in the Interior and light snow on the North Slope. Temperatures are gradually dropping this week, but most of the area south of the Brooks Range remains well above freezing for highs through Wednesday with low to mid 30s thereafter. The North Slope will be the coldest spot in Northern Alaska as highs struggle to get out of the teens by Wednesday. The only other notable weather impact is gusty northeast winds in the Bering strait this afternoon through Thursday morning where gusts may be as high as 45 mph.

SHORT TERM /THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT/

The pattern looks nearly identical to yesterday with a weakening 520 decameter low over the Bering Strait Region and weak ridging/higher heights over the Interior while a front in the Arctic drops into the North Slope. Over the Interior, it is not a clean ridge, there are showers and clouds around the area. As this pattern progresses this week, the low in the Bering will continue to degrade, becoming a mass of disorganized upper level energy extending from the Bering Strait to the Aleutians by Wednesday. This won't change much at the surface besides increasing northeast winds in the Bering Strait which will gust up to 45 mph at times from this afternoon through at least Thursday morning. Rain showers will persist for much of Western Alaska through Wednesday while largely drying thereafter. Over in the Interior, it remains mostly cloudy with a few showers around through Wednesday afternoon due to the very weak upper level flow. Wednesday night, there may be a period of clearing skies allowing fellow Interior Alaskans to perhaps get a good glimpse of some Aurora. Regardless, it then clouds back up on Thursday ahead of a front which may try to bring snow to the area as early as Thursday night.

Up north, an arctic front is dropping south allowing for snow to blossom today and tomorrow on the North Slope. Snowfall amounts look to remain light, mostly around 1 inch along the coast with slightly higher amounts up to 2 in the Plains and near Kaktovik on Tuesday. Temperatures will drop considerably behind this front with highs struggling to make it out of the teens by Wednesday. Winds will increase along the Chukchi Sea Coast, especially near Point Hope with gusts up to 35 mph through at least Thursday morning. Otherwise, it looks to remain fairly uneventful for the foreseeable future.

LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY/

The West Coast and North Slope will be fairly quiet outside of a few gusty spots, particularly the Chukchi Sea Coast and Bering Strait. The Interior will get a front which moves in sometimes Thursday night or Friday bringing a chance for snow in the Central and Eastern Interior. There is uncertainty in the strength, amount of moisture and placement of the front as it moves north, but pretty high confidence that there will be a front bringing more unsettled weather which can linger into the weekend. There is chance the remnant energy moves towards the Brooks Range and North Slope allowing for another round of light snow there as well this weekend. Overall, the long term is looking unimpactful.

Coastal Hazard Potential... Water levels along the West Coast will continue dropping to near normal levels and even below normal later this week.

HYDROLOGY

No concerns at this time.

AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

AK...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 4 AM AKDT early this morning for PKZ803. Small Craft Advisory from 4 AM to 6 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ807- 810. Small Craft Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 6 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ811. Small Craft Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 10 PM AKDT this evening for PKZ812. Small Craft Advisory from 7 PM this evening to 6 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ816. Small Craft Advisory from 1 PM this afternoon to 6 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ817. Gale Warning from 10 PM this evening to 6 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ817. Small Craft Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 6 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ851-854. Small Craft Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 6 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ856. Small Craft Advisory until 6 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ857. Small Craft Advisory until 1 AM AKDT Tuesday for PKZ858.