Gale Warning 1, NWS Fairbanks, AK

Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
251 PM AKST Tue Dec 31 2019

.SYNOPSIS...
A strong pressure gradient will persist over the western portion
of the state through Wednesday, with strong winds producing very
cold wind chill values over much of the west coast and western
Interior of Alaska. Snow moving into central Interior Alaska today
will spread into the western Interior and over the North Slope by
Wednesday morning. Eastern Interior Alaska could see some snow by
Wednesday evening and into Thursday. Temperatures will become
colder Friday and into the weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Aloft at 500 hPa, a broad longwave trough persists over the west
coast of Alaska, with southerly flow continuing over Interior
Alaska. The longwave trough will move east and south tonight and a
closed low will develop north of Kodiak Island. The persistent
southerly flow aloft over the Interior will turn more
southeasterly, with colder air gradually entering the region
through the latter half of the week.

At the surface, a large area of 1035 mb high pressure persists
over Siberia with a high pressure ridge extending north into the
Chukchi Sea and east into the northern Beaufort Sea. This will
progress eastward and expand across the entirety of the Beaufort
Sea through the latter half of the week. A 972 mb area of low
pressure over Cooke Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula is pushing a
front northward across central Interior Alaska, bringing snow to
the area today and Wednesday. This will spread northward to the
Arctic coast by Wednesday evening. A westward extending front
associated with a low developing Wednesday evening over far
western Yukon Territory will bring snow to portions of eastern and
central Interior Alaska Wednesday night and Thursday, spreading
northward as the low drifts north through the end of the week.
Precipitation chances diminish by the weekend as the low weakens.

Central and Eastern Interior:
Gap winds through passes in the Alaska Range with gusts to 60 mph
are anticipated to continue into the evening, then gradually drop
off overnight tonight. Expect a band of snow to set up across the
area Wednesday, most likely around noon or shortly after, as a
weak area of low pressure develops in the western Yukon Territory.
As this drifts north and weakens, snow across eastern Alaska will
also shift northward and diminish through Thursday. Wednesday
afternoon through Thursday morning, expect 2 to 3 inches of snow
across much of eastern Interior Alaska. Southerly flow will shift
to more southeasterly flow mid-week, bringing colder temperatures
to the area the last part of the week. Temperatures are expected
to steadily drop 10 to 20 degrees between Wednesday night and the
start of the weekend.

West Coast and Western Interior:
Northerly flow will continue through the remainder of the week,
and strong winds will persist, especially along the west coast
where gusts to 55 mph are expected at times. Additionally, 1 to 2
inches of snowfall is expected across areas from the Seward
Peninsula and Kotzebue Sound south. With the northerly flow
keeping temperatures cold and strong winds, wind chill advisories
continue across the area through Wed with wind chill values of 40
to 50 below expected. Blizzard conditions continue this afternoon
in zone 213 at Brevig Mission. While these should improve at some
point overnight, extended the Blizzard warning until midnight
tonight. With locations from Huslia to Ruby and Galena expecting 6
to 8 inches of snow tonight and Wednesday, upgraded the Winter
Weather Advisory in zone 216 to a Winter Storm Warning.

North Slope and Brooks Range:
As snow from the current round of moisture makes its way northward
to the North Slope, a shortwave trough is developing over the
eastern Arctic coast this evening and this will produce higher
snowfall amounts along its axis. With now 5 to 7 inches of snow
expected from Prudhoe Bay east, issued Winter Storm Warnings for
those areas. Temperatures will remain cold but steady through the
latter half of the week with lows in the teens below across the
Arctic coast and in the teens to 20s below across much of the
Brooks Range. By the weekend, colder temperatures will arrive,
with temperatures again dropping into the 20s to 30s below.

Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Wind Chill Advisory for AKZ205-AKZ207-AKZ208-AKZ209-AKZ210-
AKZ212-AKZ214-AKZ217.

Winter Storm Warning for AKZ203-AKZ204-AKZ216.

Wind Advisory for AKZ226.

Blizzard Warning for AKZ213.

Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ206-AKZ215-AKZ218-AKZ219-AKZ221-
AKZ227.

Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ210.

Gale Warning for PKZ210-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225.

Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ200-PKZ215-PKZ220-PKZ225.
&&

DEC 19

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FAIRBANKS AK
152 PM AKST TUE DEC 31 2019

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0150 PM     NON-TSTM WND GST 65 S FAIRBANKS          63.89N 147.84W
12/31/2019  E35 MPH          DENALI             AK   TRAINED SPOTTER

&&

JAC