Alert archive / Alaska / Red Flag Warnings in 2026

Red Flag Warning 2, NWS Anchorage, AK

June 3, 2026Bethel Census Area, Bristol Bay Borough, Dillingham Census Area, Alaska

NWS Anchorage, AK issued this red flag warning at Jun 3, 2026, 2:51 PM AKDT for Bethel Census Area, Bristol Bay Borough, Dillingham Census Area, Alaska. It was in force for 5 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
Jun 3, 2026, 2:51 PM AKDT (22:51 UTC)
Expired
Jun 3, 2026, 8:00 PM AKDT
In force
5 hr
Issued by
NWS Anchorage, AK

Counties Bethel Census Area, AK, Bristol Bay Borough, AK, Dillingham Census Area, AK

The radar

The King Salmon radar (PAKC), 162 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:51 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

King Salmon, (PAKN), launched 12:00Z, 10.9 hours before the alert went out and 163 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, King Salmon, at 12:00Z on 2026-06-03Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, King Salmon, at 12:00Z on 2026-06-03The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 164 square meters per square second.1939Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
2177 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
29 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
164 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
180 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

897 
WWAK62 PAFC 032251
RFWALU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Anchorage AK
251 PM AKDT Wed Jun 3 2026

AKZ752-753-756-763>765-040400-
/O.NEW.PAFC.FW.W.0002.260603T2251Z-260604T0400Z/
251 PM AKDT Wed Jun 3 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM AKDT THIS EVENING FOR
HOT DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS FOR KUSKOKWIM VALLEY, INTERIOR 
KUSKOKWIM DELTA, INLAND BRISTOL BAY, NORTHERN BRISTOL BAY COAST, 
AND BRISTOL BAY BOROUGH...

The National Weather Service in Anchorage has issued a Red Flag
Warning FOR HOT DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS, which is in effect
until 8 PM AKDT this evening.

* Winds...Northeast winds up to 15 mph. Gusts to 25 mph possible.

* Timing...Today, through 8 PM.

* Relative Humidity...As low as 15 to 25 percent.

* Temperatures...As high at 75 to 78 degrees.

* Location...Kuskokwim Valley, Interior Kuskokwim Delta, Northern
  Bristol Bay Coast, Interior Bristol Bay, and Bristol Bay
  Borough.

* Impacts...Rapid ignition, growth and spread of fires will be 
  possible.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are imminent or occurring now, or will shortly. It is directed
toward fire agencies, and through them to the public.

&&

$$
1 follow-up statement
657 
WWAK62 PAFC 040414
RFWALU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Anchorage AK
814 PM AKDT Wed Jun 3 2026

AKZ752-753-756-763>765-040515-
/O.EXP.PAFC.FW.W.0002.000000T0000Z-260604T0400Z/
814 PM AKDT Wed Jun 3 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR HOT DRY AND WINDY CONDITIONS
FOR KUSKOKWIM VALLEY, INTERIOR KUSKOKWIM DELTA, INLAND BRISTOL 
BAY, NORTHERN BRISTOL BAY COAST, AND BRISTOL BAY BOROUGH...

Hot, dry, windy conditions across the region are beginning to 
wane as temperatures slowly cool and winds diminish from peak 
values observed earlier this afternoon and evening. Relative 
humidity values are also expected to rebound back into and
eventually above the 30 percent range over the couple of hours.


$$

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this red flag 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 red flag warning went out at Jun 3, 5:24 AM AKDT, 9 hours 27 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 3, 5:24 AM AKDT, 9 hours 27 minutes before
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Anchorage AK
524 AM AKDT Wed Jun 3 2026

.SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 through 3: Today
through Friday)...

The next two days look awfully nice across Southcentral with
Friday also not looking too shabby. This is due to a ridge that
stretches across most of mainland Alaska from the the Bering Sea
into the Yukon Territory. This will keep sunny skies over
Southcentral today with the warmest temperatures of the season so
far for most areas. Thursday will remain mostly sunny for most of
the area, though temperatures will likely be a tick lower than
today. Another difference from today is that by late Thursday, a
weak shortwave will skirt the Copper River Basin. This will likely
bring some shower activity to the Wrangell Mountains and eastern
portion of the Alaska Range. It should also increase the northerly winds
through the Alaska Range a little bit as well.

On Friday, the upper ridge will show signs of weakening as a
trough begins to dig into Western Alaska out of an Arctic low.
This is not a sharp trough and will mainly pave the way for a much
stronger trough to dig into the area this weekend. However, for
Friday, this should mean some increasing clouds but still
relatively warm temperatures. There will also be increased shower
activity over the Mountains across the region for Friday
afternoon and evening.

&&

.SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS
(Days 1 through 3: Today through Saturday morning)...

A weak front remains along the Alaska Peninsula (AKPEN) this
morning. As a result, scattered light rain showers continue for
places like Chignik, Perryville, Nelson Lagoon, and Port Heiden.
Unalaska remains within a northerly flow regime off of the Bering
Sea and continues to contend with low stratus and misty
conditions. Showery activity across the AKPEN looks to taper off
through this afternoon with low stratus lifting this afternoon
across Unalaska. Expect another warm and dry day across Mainland
Southwest Alaska with temperatures into the 70s. Middle to upper
70s are possible for the Kuskokwim Valley and along the Western
Alaska Range. Expect similar conditions for Thursday, except a few
degrees cooler. This cooling trend will continue into Friday and
Saturday as a series of weak upper-level shortwaves will dig south
over Mainland Southwest and bring increased cloud cover.

Farther out west, low stratus continues across much of the Bering
Sea, from the Pribilof Islands and west, due to a persistent
ridge of high pressure. The ridge over the Bering will begin to
weaken and break down through today, but it will still have
influence over much of the Bering through Thursday as drier air in
the middle to upper-levels of the atmosphere moves over the
eastern to north-central Bering. A weak North Pacific low will
send its front northward to the vicinity of Adak/Atka by early
Friday morning. There is some uncertainty on how far north rain
will make it. Therefore, went with chance PoPs for Friday across
Adak/Atka for now. Regardless, any rain will be light in nature.
This system could make it to Nikolski/Unalaska by Saturday
morning. This will again depend on the northern extent of the
front as to whether any rain makes it into those locations.

&&

.LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7: Saturday through
Tuesday)...

A more active pattern is expected to re-emerge this weekend and
into early next week as Arctic troughing pushes into mainland
Alaska, resulting in cooler temperatures across most of the state.
These troughs will break down the ridge of high pressure by
Saturday, bringing isolated to scattered showers and the
possibility for convective activity to return to the Southern
Interior through the period.

Two upper-level lows will track across the North Pacific, the
first of which moves to the south of the Central Aleutians by
Saturday and toward Southeast Alaska through Sunday. This leading
low has trended weaker and more progressive in recent model runs,
with increased confidence of it passing South of the state with
more minimal impacts. There remains quite a bit of run-to-run
uncertainty regarding the track of the second low, with ensemble
means placing it near the central Aleutians by Tuesday night. This
system appears to have a greater potential to track further north
and interact with an upper trough, potentially bringing impacts
to Southwest and Southcentral later next week.

-CW

&&

.AVIATION...

PANC...VFR conditions and light winds will persist.

&&

The office that day

Everything else NWS Anchorage, AK issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 3, 3:42 AM AKDTSmall Craft AdvisoryAFC46 hr

Nearby

Red Flag Warnings in Alaska, 2026Every red flag warning in 2026

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.