Alert archive / Alaska / Gale Warnings in 2018
Gale Warning 128, NWS Anchorage, AK
NWS Anchorage, AK issued this gale warning at Feb 26, 2018, 3:23 PM AKST. It was in force for 60 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Feb 26, 2018, 3:23 PM AKST (00:23 UTC)
- Expired
- Mar 1, 2018, 3:04 AM AKST
- In force
- 60 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Anchorage, AK
The text
As transmitted.
947 FZAK62 PAFC 270023 OFFALU Offshore Waters Forecast National Weather Service Anchorage AK 323 PM AKST Mon Feb 26 2018 Offshore Waters Forecast for the Bering Sea Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. PKZ499-271415- 323 PM AKST Mon Feb 26 2018 .SYNOPSIS FOR CENTRAL BERING SEA... A North Pacific low moves to 52N 168E at 949 mb Tue night and continues to 57N 169E at 954 mb Wed afternoon. Its front pushes across the Western Aleutians by Wed afternoon. High pressure moves into Western Alaska through Wed afternoon. $$ PKZ411-271415- Bering Sea Offshore West of 180 and East of the International Dateline- 323 PM AKST Mon Feb 26 2018 ...GALE WARNING TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT... .TONIGHT...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 7 to 12 ft. .TUE...SE wind 10 to 25 kt increasing to 30 to 45 kt in the afternoon. Seas 8 to 13 ft. Snow. .TUE NIGHT...SE wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft building to 16 to 24 ft after midnight. Rain and snow. .WED...S wind 35 to 50 kt. Seas 18 to 32 ft. .WED NIGHT...SW wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 20 to 32 ft. .THU...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 16 to 24 ft. .FRI...S wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. .SAT...SW wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 17 to 22 ft. $$ PKZ412-271415- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and North of 56N- 323 PM AKST Mon Feb 26 2018 ...GALE WARNING TUESDAY NIGHT... .TONIGHT...W wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 8 to 11 ft. .TUE...W wind 15 to 30 kt becoming variable up to 20 kt in the afternoon. Seas 8 to 12 ft. .TUE NIGHT...SE wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 8 to 16 ft. Snow and rain. .WED...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 12 to 20 ft. .WED NIGHT...S wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 14 to 22 ft. .THU...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 13 to 21 ft. .FRI THROUGH SAT...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. $$ PKZ413-271415- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and South of 56N- 323 PM AKST Mon Feb 26 2018 ...GALE WARNING TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT... .TONIGHT...W wind 15 to 30 kt becoming NW up to 20 kt after midnight. Seas 10 to 15 ft. Snow. .TUE...SE wind up to 15 kt increasing to 20 to 35 kt in the afternoon. Seas 7 to 10 ft. .TUE NIGHT...SE wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. Rain. .WED...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 14 to 19 ft. .WED NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 11 to 19 ft. .THU THROUGH SAT...SW wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. $$ PKZ414-271415- Bering Sea Offshore East of 171W- 323 PM AKST Mon Feb 26 2018 .TONIGHT...W wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 10 to 15 ft. Snow. .TUE...W wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 to 12 ft. .TUE NIGHT...W wind up to 20 kt becoming SE 15 to 30 kt after midnight. Seas 7 to 10 ft. .WED...SE wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 7 to 12 ft. .WED NIGHT...SE wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .THU...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 8 to 13 ft. .FRI...W wind up to 15 kt. Seas 6 to 10 ft. .SAT...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 6 to 11 ft. $$
5 follow-up statements
661 FZAK62 PAFC 271235 OFFALU Offshore Waters Forecast National Weather Service Anchorage AK 335 AM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 Offshore Waters Forecast for the Bering Sea Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. PKZ499-280300- 335 AM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 .SYNOPSIS FOR CENTRAL BERING SEA... A front over the western Aleutians will move over the eastern Aleutians through Thu morning. The associated North Pacific low will move to 53N 167E at 947 mb Wed morning then exit the western Bering Thu morning. $$ PKZ411-280300- Bering Sea Offshore West of 180 and East of the International Dateline- 335 AM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 ...STORM WARNING WEDNESDAY... .TODAY...S wind 10 to 25 kt becoming SE 30 to 45 kt in the afternoon. Seas 8 to 13 ft. Snow. .TONIGHT...SE wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft building to 17 to 20 ft after midnight. Rain and snow. .WED...S wind 35 to 50 kt. Seas 18 to 32 ft. .WED NIGHT...S wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 22 to 34 ft. .THU...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 16 to 24 ft. .FRI...S wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. .SAT...SW wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 17 to 22 ft. $$ PKZ412-280300- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and North of 56N- 335 AM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 ...GALE WARNING TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY... .TODAY...W wind 15 to 30 kt becoming SW 10 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Seas 8 to 12 ft. Freezing spray N of 58N in the morning. .TONIGHT...SE wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 9 ft building to 9 to 16 ft after midnight. Rain. .WED...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 13 to 21 ft. Rain and snow. .WED NIGHT...S wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 14 to 22 ft. .THU...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 15 to 23 ft. .FRI THROUGH SAT...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. $$ PKZ413-280300- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and South of 56N- 335 AM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 ...GALE WARNING TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY... .TODAY...Variable wind 15 kt becoming SE 15 to 30 kt in the afternoon. Seas 9 ft. .TONIGHT...SE wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. Rain. .WED...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 13 to 18 ft. Rain. .WED NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 12 to 20 ft. .THU THROUGH SAT...SW wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft. $$ PKZ414-280300- Bering Sea Offshore East of 171W- 335 AM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 ...GALE WARNING WEDNESDAY... .TODAY...NW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 to 13 ft. .TONIGHT...W wind up to 20 kt becoming SE 15 to 30 kt after midnight. Seas 8 ft. .WED...SE wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 7 to 12 ft. .WED NIGHT...SE wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .THU...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 8 to 13 ft. .FRI...W wind up to 15 kt. Seas 7 to 12 ft. .SAT...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 6 to 11 ft. $$
970 FZAK62 PAFC 280005 OFFALU Offshore Waters Forecast National Weather Service Anchorage AK 305 PM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 Offshore Waters Forecast for the Bering Sea Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. PKZ499-281415- 305 PM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 .SYNOPSIS FOR CENTRAL BERING SEA... High pressure slides into Western Alaska Wed afternoon. A 949 mb low at 50N 169E moves to 946 mb near 53N 167E Wed morning then continues into Kamchatka midday Thu. Its associated front moves across the Aleutians into the Alaska Peninsula by Thu afternoon. $$ PKZ411-281415- Bering Sea Offshore West of 180 and East of the International Dateline- 305 PM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 ...STORM WARNING WEDNESDAY... .TONIGHT...SE wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft. Rain and snow. .WED...S wind 35 to 50 kt. Seas 18 to 32 ft. .WED NIGHT...S wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 21 to 34 ft. .THU...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 15 to 27 ft. .THU NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 12 to 18 ft. .FRI...S wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. .SAT...SW wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 17 to 22 ft. .SUN...W wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 17 to 29 ft. $$ PKZ412-281415- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and North of 56N- 305 PM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 ...GALE WARNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT... .TONIGHT...SE wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 7 to 10 ft building to 8 to 16 ft after midnight. Snow and rain. .WED...SE wind 35 to 45 kt becoming S 25 to 40 kt in the afternoon. Seas 13 to 21 ft. Rain and snow. .WED NIGHT...S wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 14 to 22 ft. Rain. .THU...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 14 to 22 ft. .THU NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 14 to 20 ft. .FRI THROUGH SAT...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. .SUN...W wind 35 kt. Seas 23 to 29 ft. $$ PKZ413-281415- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and South of 56N- 305 PM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 ...GALE WARNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY... .TONIGHT...SE wind 30 to 45 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft. Rain. .WED...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 13 to 19 ft. Rain. .WED NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 11 to 19 ft. Rain. .THU...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 11 to 19 ft. .THU NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 11 to 17 ft. .FRI THROUGH SAT...SW wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft. .SUN...W wind 25 to 35 kt. Seas 20 to 28 ft. $$ PKZ414-281415- Bering Sea Offshore East of 171W- 305 PM AKST Tue Feb 27 2018 ...GALE WARNING WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT... .TONIGHT...W wind up to 20 kt becoming SE 10 to 25 kt after midnight. Seas 8 ft. .WED...SE wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 7 to 12 ft. .WED NIGHT...SE wind 25 to 35 kt becoming S 15 to 30 kt after midnight. Seas 9 to 14 ft. Rain. .THU...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .THU NIGHT...SW wind up to 20 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .FRI...W wind up to 15 kt. Seas 7 to 12 ft. .SAT...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 6 to 11 ft. .SUN...W wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 14 to 22 ft. $$
879 FZAK62 PAFC 281210 OFFALU Offshore Waters Forecast National Weather Service Anchorage AK 310 AM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 Offshore Waters Forecast for the Bering Sea Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. PKZ499-010230- 310 AM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 .SYNOPSIS FOR CENTRAL BERING SEA... A 950 mb low at 53N 166E will exit the Bering over Kamchatka Thu morning. The associated front will move over the eastern Aleutians and dissipate Thu afternoon. $$ PKZ411-010230- Bering Sea Offshore West of 180 and East of the International Dateline- 310 AM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 ...STORM WARNING TODAY... .TODAY...S wind 35 to 50 kt. Seas 18 to 32 ft. .TONIGHT...S wind 30 to 45 kt diminishing to 25 to 35 kt after midnight. Seas 20 to 34 ft. .THU...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 16 to 24 ft. .THU NIGHT...W wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 11 to 16 ft. .FRI THROUGH SAT...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 13 to 21 ft. .SUN...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 16 to 25 ft. $$ PKZ412-010230- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and North of 56N- 310 AM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 ...GALE WARNING TODAY... .TODAY...SE wind 35 to 45 kt becoming S 25 to 40 kt in the afternoon. Seas 13 to 21 ft. Rain and snow. .TONIGHT...S wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 14 to 22 ft. Rain. .THU...SW wind 10 to 25 kt increasing to 20 to 30 kt in the afternoon. Seas 14 to 22 ft. .THU NIGHT...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 13 to 17 ft. .FRI THROUGH SAT...S wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .SUN...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 14 to 22 ft. $$ PKZ413-010230- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and South of 56N- 310 AM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 ...GALE WARNING TODAY... .TODAY...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 13 to 20 ft. Rain. .TONIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft. Rain. .THU...SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Seas 11 to 18 ft. .THU NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 10 to 15 ft. .FRI THROUGH SAT...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .SUN...W wind 30 kt. Seas 14 to 21 ft. $$ PKZ414-010230- Bering Sea Offshore East of 171W- 310 AM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 ...GALE WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY... .TODAY...SE wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 7 to 12 ft. .TONIGHT...SE wind 25 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. Rain. .THU...S wind 20 to 35 kt becoming SW 15 to 25 kt in the afternoon. Seas 9 to 14 ft. Rain. .THU NIGHT...SW wind up to 20 kt. Seas 8 to 13 ft. .FRI...NW wind up to 20 kt. Seas 7 to 10 ft. .SAT...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 5 to 9 ft. .SUN...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. $$
638 FZAK62 PAFC 010013 OFFALU Offshore Waters Forecast National Weather Service Anchorage AK 313 PM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 Offshore Waters Forecast for the Bering Sea Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. PKZ499-011400- 313 PM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 .SYNOPSIS FOR CENTRAL BERING SEA... A 957 mb low at 56N 169E moves into Northern Kamchatka by Thu morning. Its associated front moves into Western Alaska for Fri morning. A 1018 mb North Pacific low forms on the front and moves to 51N 158W at 994 mb Fri afternoon. A second front approaches the Western Aleutians for Fri afternoon. $$ PKZ411-011400- Bering Sea Offshore West of 180 and East of the International Dateline- 313 PM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 ...GALE WARNING TONIGHT... .TONIGHT...S wind 30 to 45 kt diminishing to 25 to 35 kt after midnight. Seas 19 to 32 ft. .THU...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 15 to 23 ft. .THU NIGHT...W wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 13 ft. .FRI...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 12 ft. .FRI NIGHT...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft. .SAT...S wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 15 to 23 ft. .SUN THROUGH MON...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 16 to 24 ft. $$ PKZ412-011400- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and North of 56N- 313 PM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 ...GALE WARNING TONIGHT... .TONIGHT...S wind 20 to 35 kt diminishing to 10 to 25 kt after midnight. Seas 13 to 21 ft. Rain. .THU...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 13 to 21 ft. .THU NIGHT...SW wind 25 kt. Seas 15 ft. .FRI...W wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 10 to 13 ft. .FRI NIGHT...S wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 8 to 11 ft. .SAT...S wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .SUN THROUGH MON...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 14 to 22 ft. $$ PKZ413-011400- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and South of 56N- 313 PM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 .TONIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt diminishing to 10 to 20 kt after midnight. Seas 11 to 18 ft. Rain. .THU...SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Seas 11 to 16 ft. .THU NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 10 to 14 ft. .FRI...W wind 10 to 20 kt. Seas 9 to 12 ft. .FRI NIGHT...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .SAT...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .SUN THROUGH MON...SW wind 30 kt. Seas 13 to 21 ft. $$ PKZ414-011400- Bering Sea Offshore East of 171W- 313 PM AKST Wed Feb 28 2018 ...GALE WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY... .TONIGHT...SE wind 25 to 35 kt. Seas 9 to 15 ft. Rain. .THU...SE wind 20 to 35 kt becoming SW 15 to 25 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. Rain. .THU NIGHT...SW wind 10 to 20 kt. Seas 8 to 13 ft. .FRI...W wind up to 20 kt. Seas 6 to 10 ft. .FRI NIGHT...NW wind up to 20 kt. Seas 6 to 9 ft. .SAT...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 5 to 9 ft. .SUN THROUGH MON...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 to 17 ft. $$
262 FZAK62 PAFC 011204 OFFALU Offshore Waters Forecast National Weather Service Anchorage AK 304 AM AKST Thu Mar 1 2018 Offshore Waters Forecast for the Bering Sea Wind forecasts reflect the predominant speed and direction expected. Sea forecasts represent an average of the highest one-third of the combined wind wave and swell height. PKZ499-020145- 304 AM AKST Thu Mar 1 2018 .SYNOPSIS FOR CENTRAL BERING SEA... A front over the eastern Aleutians will dissipate this afternoon. A North Pacific low will move to 51N 161W at 1006 mb Fri morning then it will move into the southwestern Gulf Sat night. A front will move over the western Aleutians Fri afternoon. $$ PKZ411-020145- Bering Sea Offshore West of 180 and East of the International Dateline- 304 AM AKST Thu Mar 1 2018 .TODAY...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 15 to 23 ft. .TONIGHT...W wind 15 to 25 kt. Seas 12 to 15 ft. .FRI...SW wind 20 kt becoming S 20 to 30 kt in the afternoon. Seas 9 to 12 ft. .FRI NIGHT...S wind 25 to 40 kt. Seas 9 to 16 ft. .SAT THROUGH MON...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 16 to 26 ft. $$ PKZ412-020145- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and North of 56N- 304 AM AKST Thu Mar 1 2018 .TODAY...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 13 to 21 ft. .TONIGHT...SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Seas 14 ft. .FRI...W wind 10 to 20 kt. Seas 10 to 13 ft. .FRI NIGHT...SW wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 ft. .SAT...S wind 15 to 30 kt. Seas 9 to 14 ft. .SUN THROUGH MON...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 13 to 21 ft. $$ PKZ413-020145- Bering Sea Offshore 171W to 180 and South of 56N- 304 AM AKST Thu Mar 1 2018 .TODAY...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 11 to 16 ft. .TONIGHT...SW wind 15 to 25 kt. Seas 11 to 14 ft. .FRI...W wind 10 to 20 kt. Seas 10 ft. .FRI NIGHT...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 8 to 13 ft. .SAT THROUGH MON...SW wind 20 to 30 kt. Seas 10 to 18 ft. $$ PKZ414-020145- Bering Sea Offshore East of 171W- 304 AM AKST Thu Mar 1 2018 ...GALE WARNING TODAY... .TODAY...SW wind 20 to 35 kt. Seas 10 to 14 ft. Rain. .TONIGHT...SW wind 10 to 20 kt. Seas 8 to 13 ft. .FRI...W wind 10 to 15 kt. Seas 6 to 10 ft. .FRI NIGHT...NW wind up to 15 kt. Seas 7 ft. .SAT THROUGH MON...SW wind 10 to 25 kt. Seas 8 to 13 ft. $$
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this gale warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Anchorage, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before this gale warning went out at Feb 26, 7:24 AM AKST, 7 hours 59 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 26, 7:24 AM AKST, 7 hours 59 minutes before
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 724 AM AKST Mon Feb 26 2018 .ANALYSIS AND UPPER LEVELS... Snow has overspread much of the southern mainland this morning as an upper level trough races eastward from the Bering Sea embedded in quasi-zonal flow aloft. A surface reflection of this feature is moving inland over the Y-K Delta region with an occluded front extending eastward into Cook Inlet and the central Gulf. Widespread gale to storm force winds are present from the eastern Bering Sea into the Gulf of Alaska beneath a 130+ knot upper level jet riding along the base of the trough. A showery regime encompasses much of the Bering in westerly flow in the wake of the trough, with another much weaker disturbance moving into the western Aleutians. && .MODEL DISCUSSION... Models remain in good agreement in the short term as zonal flow gives way to a more amplified pattern by the middle of the week. The upper trough will track quickly across the mainland today, followed by several weak shortwaves which will help to keep snow showers going into Monday night. The pattern will begin to amplify on Tuesday as the longwave trough is reinforced by shortwave energy digging down from the interior, allowing flow to become more north-northwesterly with time. Meanwhile, another deep Kamchatka low will help to pump up a stout ridge over the Bering. All of this will yield a drier offshore flow pattern dominated by cold air advection and outflow winds by Wednesday. Utilized a combination of the NAM and GFS for the morning forecast package. && .AVIATION... PANC...Snow will redevelop this morning after a brief break prior to 15z. Snow will be focused mainly over eastern portions of the Anchorage Bowl, with the terminal remaining on the western edge of the precipitation. This is expected to yield prevailing MVFR conditions at the terminal, with occasional fluctuations to IFR or VFR over the course of the day. Conditions will improve by late this evening as the system moves away from the area, yielding VFR conditions for the remainder for the TAF period. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 and 2)... After a brief break early this morning, snow is expected to redevelop from the Kenai Peninsula northward into the Anchorage Bowl and MatSu Valleys later this morning. This second round of snow is expected to bring the lower snow ratios that were initially expected from this snow event, but have yet to occur in some places due to gusty southerly winds that developed over West Anchorage late last night, bringing increased supercooled liquid water into the lower levels. This second band of snow will also bring a shift to southwesterly flow up Cook Inlet, a much more favorable flow for orographically enhanced snow for East Anchorage and the Matanuska Valley. As a result of this enhancement areas west of the Seward Highway will likely stay on the very western edge of most of snowfall from this system and should see notably lower accumulations by the time it is all said and done this evening. Further north over the Susitna Valley, the expected accumulations were increased significantly to just below advisory criteria this morning due to stronger southwest flow than initially expected. By this evening the models are beginning to indicate that this system will linger longer into the evening, especially in the Matanuska Valley which will continue southwesterly-westerly flow with cyclonic flow aloft until late into the evening. and as a result the end time of the Anchorage and Matanuska Valley advisories were pushed back into the evening. The other concern in the forecast will be for the development outflow winds behind the Gulf low beginning today from Kachemak Bay southward into Kodiak Island. There is still good agreement in widespread storm to hurricane force gusts developing through the Barren Islands by this afternoon, with storm force westerly gusts for Kodiak Island. There should then be a brief lull in the westerly winds on Tuesday morning as a lee side low develops off of Kodiak Island, but outflow winds will quickly ramp up again and spread into the North Gulf Coast Tuesday evening. These winds will then be the primary forecast challenge looking into the middle of the week as a surge of cold air begins to descend into the South Mainland. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA... The low over southwest Alaska will continue its eastward track through the area bringing snow as it passes. There are also strong winds associated with the low which is bringing blowing snow to southwest Alaska. This afternoon the low will have moved off to the east and snow and winds will diminish. This setup will also bring cold northerly flow to the region. Tuesday night ridging from the Bering will move over the area and help to clear out the cloud cover. Then late on Wednesday, winds will switch to the south and bring warmer air to southwest Alaska. && .SHORT TERM FORECAST BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS... Zonal flow and snow showers look to dominate the Bering and Aleutians until Tuesday morning when ridging builds in over the central Bering and a new system approaches the western Aleutians from the North Pacific. The ridging will clear out precip as it tracks east. Meanwhile, the new system will pull up enough warm air from the south to bring a mix of rain and snow to the islands. As the main low center tracks north, to the west of Shemya, it will bring strong winds with gusts in the 60 kt range Tuesday night. The front with this system will move over the central Aleutians Wednesday and the eastern Aleutians by Wednesday night. && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 3 through 7)... The GFS has maintained decent run to run continuity with the major synoptic features. At the onset of this forecast period, the latest iteration of the GFS ensembles has a tight clustering with the low over the Western Bering, the high over the Yukon/NW Territories, and the low over SE AK. There is a third low that all of the global models are hinting at coming into the North Pacific but there has been too much variance even with the more stable model guidance. Any way you slice it, a progressive and amplified pattern is on tap most of this period. The primary sensible weather highlight to look for this package will be the storm force and potentially hurricane force winds over the Western and Central Bering as the low passes by Shemya and the surface pressure possibly drops below 950 mb Wednesday. The GFS and the ECMWF really bring that deepening trough with multiple shortwaves across the Bering and into Western Alaska through Day 6. Confidence is building that this unsettled pattern will materialize. && .AFC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... PUBLIC...Winter Weather Advisory 101 111. MARINE...Storm Warning 120 130 131 132 138 160 165 178 180 351 352 414. Gale Warning 119 136 137 139 141 150 155 170 171 172 175 177 179 411. Heavy Freezing Spray 130 180 181 185. && SYNOPSIS AND MODEL DISCUSSION...CB SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA...DEK SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS...DK LONG TERM...PJS
In the hours before
Local storm report, Feb 26, 12:34 PM AKST, 2 hours 49 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ANCHORAGE AK
1234 PM AKST MON FEB 26 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 AM SNOW 1 W GLEN ALPS 61.10N 149.73W
02/26/2018 E2.0 INCH AK DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
DEARMOUN AT HILLSIDE
0400 AM SNOW 4 S ANCHORAGE 61.16N 149.89W
02/26/2018 M2.0 INCH AK DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
C STREET AT RASPBERRY
0500 AM SNOW 4 W PALMER 61.59N 149.24W
02/26/2018 E3.0 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
MIXED WITH FREEZING RAIN
0600 AM SNOW 6 NNE EAGLE RIVER 61.39N 149.48W
02/26/2018 M1.6 INCH AK COCORAHS
0630 AM SNOW 1 SSW BIG LAKE 61.51N 149.96W
02/26/2018 M4.0 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
0655 AM SNOW BIG LAKE 61.52N 149.95W
02/26/2018 M4.0 INCH AK NWS EMPLOYEE
4 IN OF SNOW. CURRENTLY FREEZING DRIZZLE.
0700 AM SNOW 9 S TALKEETNA 62.21N 150.09W
02/26/2018 M6.3 INCH AK COCORAHS
0800 AM SNOW 3 ESE MEADOW LAKES 61.60N 149.51W
02/26/2018 M2.5 INCH AK COCORAHS
0830 AM SNOW 5 NNW BUTTE 61.61N 149.10W
02/26/2018 M4.0 INCH AK COCORAHS
1115 AM SNOW 27 NNE CHASE 62.82N 149.91W
02/26/2018 M4.0 INCH AK TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
KUTZThe office that day
Everything else NWS Anchorage, AK issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26, 3:23 PM AKST | Gale Warning | AFC | 60 hr | |
| Feb 26, 3:23 PM AKST | Small Craft Advisory | AFC | 4 days | |
| Feb 26, 3:23 PM AKST | Heavy Freezing Spray Warning | AFC | 72 hr | |
| Feb 26, 3:47 PM AKST | Gale Warning | AFC | 71 hr | |
| Feb 26, 3:47 PM AKST | Small Craft Advisory | AFC | 71 hr | |
| Feb 27, 3:35 AM AKST | Gale Warning | AFC | 59 hr | |
| Feb 27, 3:35 AM AKST | Storm Warning | AFC | 36 hr | |
| Feb 27, 3:36 AM AKST | Gale Warning | AFC | 59 hr | |
| Feb 27, 3:36 AM AKST | Heavy Freezing Spray Warning | AFC | 12 hr | |
| Feb 27, 3:54 AM AKST | Gale Warning | AFC | 47 hr | |
| Feb 27, 4:02 AM AKST | Gale Warning | AFC | 59 hr | |
| Feb 27, 4:02 AM AKST | Small Craft Advisory | AFC | 59 hr |
Nearby
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text.