Gale Warning 56, NWS Fairbanks, AK

Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
215 PM AKST Fri Mar 8 2019

.DISCUSSION...
Several weather fronts will move northeast across the southern
Bering Sea and into mainland Alaska through the weekend. This
will bring snow, blowing snow, a chance of rain and freezing rain,
and windy conditions to the West Coast and Western Interior. This
will also bring southerly chinook winds across the Alaska Range
from tonight through early Sun, making the southeast Interior dry
and very warm, with a chance of snow in the Central Interior. The
North Slope will remain warmer than normal into Saturday with snow
and blowing snow mainly from Utqiagvik west.

Models are in generally good agreement through the weekend and we
will make only minor adjustments to the current forecasts. A
weather front draped across the western Interior will dissipate
through Saturday with snowfall tapering off from south to north. A
stronger front on the heals of the previous system will push into
the lower Yukon Valley Saturday morning and move north along the
west coast through Saturday night. Much warmer air associated with
this front will result in mixed precipitation likely as far north
as Galena and across eastern Norton Sound. Another feature will
rotate north across the western half of the state on Sunday into
Monday.

North Slope and Brooks Range...Increasing east to northeast winds
on Saturday and continuing through into early next week. The
strongest winds will be mainly from Utqiagvik westward with snow
and low visibility in blowing snow developing. Additional snow
will spread into the eastern Arctic Coast on Sunday will cooling
temperatures.

West Coast and Western Interior....A handful of winter weather
advisories will continue for snow, areas of blowing snow, and
mixed precipitation into Sunday. Snowfall will taper off over the
lower Yukon Valley tonight but continue in the Kobuk Valley and
Brooks Range into Saturday. A second round of precipitation and
increasing winds will develop on Saturday. As mentioned above,
mixed rain and snow is expected south of Galena and eastern Norton
Sound from Saturday into Sunday morning. The heaviest snow will be
in the Nulato Hills and Brooks Range with additional totals
through Sunday morning of 3 to 6 inches. A big change developing
later this weekend for the Bering Strait region with increasing
north winds and cooler temperatures.

Central and Eastern Interior....Southerly chinook winds gusting to
65 mph will develop in Alaska Range passes Saturday morning and
continue into Sunday. The southerly flow will likely bring the
warmest day of year so far to the Alaska Range and the Fairbanks
area with temperatures into the 30's and 40's. The eastern
Interior will remain dry, while some some light snow showers are
possible in along the Brooks Range and west of Nenana.

Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...No issues due to mainly
offshore flow. A shift to northerly winds and colder temperatures
will allow for sea ice to gradually redevelop in the the northern
Bering and southern Chukchi Seas.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Wind Advisory for AKZ225-AKZ226-AKZ227.

Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ201-AKZ209-AKZ212-AKZ213-AKZ215-
AKZ216-AKZ217.

Small Craft Advisory for PKZ200.

Gale Warning for PKZ210.

Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ220-PKZ225-PKZ230-PKZ235.
&&

MAR 19