Alert archive / Alaska / Red Flag Warnings in 2026

Red Flag Warning 6, NWS Anchorage, AK

June 18, 2026Bethel Census Area, Alaska

NWS Anchorage, AK issued this red flag warning at Jun 18, 2026, 2:45 PM AKDT for Bethel Census Area, Alaska. It took effect at Jun 19, 2026, 1:00 PM AKDT. It was in force for 12 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 18, 2026, 2:45 PM AKDT (22:45 UTC)
In effect from
Jun 19, 2026, 1:00 PM AKDT
Expired
Jun 20, 2026, 12:48 AM AKDT
In force
12 hr
Issued by
NWS Anchorage, AK

County Bethel Census Area, AK

The radar

The Bethel radar (PABC), 75 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 22:47 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

Bethel, (PBET), launched 12:00Z, 10.8 hours before the alert went out and 71 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, Bethel, at 12:00Z on 2026-06-18Temperature 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, Bethel, at 12:00Z on 2026-06-18The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -5 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
783 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
11 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-5 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
-6 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

591 
WWAK62 PAFC 182245
RFWALU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Anchorage AK
245 PM AKDT Thu Jun 18 2026

AKZ754-191400-
/O.NEW.PAFC.FW.W.0006.260619T2100Z-260620T0900Z/
245 PM AKDT Thu Jun 18 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM FRIDAY TO 1 AM AKDT
SATURDAY FOR LIGHTNING FOR LIME VILLAGE...

The National Weather Service in Anchorage has issued a Red Flag
Warning FOR LIGHTNING, which is in effect from 1 PM Friday to
1 AM AKDT Saturday.

* Timing...Thunderstorms are expected to develop Friday afternoon
  with storms weakening or moving out of the area by Friday 
  night.

* Location...Lime Village

* Thunderstorm Coverage... Scattered to widely scattered.

* Winds...Light and variable with gusty erratic winds near 
  thunderstorms.

* Relative Humidity...As low at 25%.

* Temperatures...In the mid to upper 70s for lower elevations.

* Impacts...Ample lightning could lead to numerous new fire 
  starts

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.

&&

$$
2 follow-up statements
150 
WWAK62 PAFC 190959
RFWALU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Anchorage AK
159 AM AKDT Fri Jun 19 2026

AKZ754-200900-
/O.CON.PAFC.FW.W.0006.260619T2100Z-260620T0900Z/
159 AM AKDT Fri Jun 19 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO
1 AM AKDT SATURDAY FOR LIGHTNING FOR LIME VILLAGE...

* Timing...Thunderstorms are expected to develop Friday 
  afternoon with storms weakening or moving out of the area by 
  Friday night.

* Location...Lime Village

* Thunderstorm Coverage... Scattered to widely scattered.

* Winds...Light and variable with gusty erratic winds near 
  thunderstorms.

* Relative Humidity...As low at 25 percent.

* Temperatures...In the mid to upper 70s for lower elevations.

* Impacts...Ample lightning could lead to numerous new fire 
  starts

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.

&&

$$
647 
WWAK62 PAFC 200848
RFWALU

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Anchorage AK
1248 AM AKDT Sat Jun 20 2026

AKZ754-201000-
/O.CAN.PAFC.FW.W.0006.000000T0000Z-260620T0900Z/
1248 AM AKDT Sat Jun 20 2026

...RED FLAG WARNING HAS EXPIRED FOR LIGHTNING FOR LIME VILLAGE...

The National Weather Service in Anchorage has cancelled the Red 
Flag Warning.

Thunderstorm activity has ended.

$$

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 18, 5:37 AM AKDT, 9 hours 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 18, 5:37 AM AKDT, 9 hours 8 minutes before
Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Anchorage AK
537 AM AKDT Thu Jun 18 2026

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

A weakened low is near the Southeast Panhandle this morning with
high pressure building across Southcentral. An easterly wave is
pushing offshore and rain showers continue to move from northeast
near the Wrangell Mountains to southwest into northern Gulf. Rain
ended last night for Cordova, but mistiness and fog will continue
through the rest of this morning.

This easterly wave will continuing moving southwestward for the
rest of today. Energy along this path could spread west for this
afternoon and although there is a little less moisture expected,
isolated thunderstorms will remain possible this afternoon. Model
guidance shows that the highest CAPE values/most convective
activity will form near the Talkeetna mountains and the Susitna
Valley.

The upper level wave starts to pivot around the high in
Southcentral and lifts northward as the upper level energy
interacts with a polar trough dipping into Southwest Alaska.
With models showing daytime high temperatures warming well into
the mid to upper 70s Friday afternoon, this timeframe looks
especially conducive for widely scattered showers and
thunderstorms for the Susitna Valley and Copper River Basin - with
higher confidence for the Susitna Valley seeing the bulk of
activity with less coverage for the Copper River Basin. There is
also medium confidence in convection (including isolated
thunderstorms) forming across the Kenai Peninsula by Friday
afternoon. The global models show that upper level southerly flow
and very warm temperatures continue into Saturday, where the
chances of thunderstorms will stay with us, though more inland and near
terrain.

Rux/AM

&&

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

Over the Southwest mainland chances for daytime showers and
isolated thunderstorms (20 to 30% chance) will continue into the
weekend with the Lower Kuskokwim Valley seeing the most activity.
An upper low will descend from the north over the lower Kuskokwim
region today, allowing for cooler temperatures and non- convective
rainfall over the Kuskokwim Delta.The low continues into the
eastern Bering and crosses the Alaska peninsula by Sunday morning.
Widespread fog and low stratus will follow the familiar pattern
of building during the evening and decaying during the morning.

Ridging continues over the central Bering Sea, while the front of
a North Pacific low southwest of Attu Island has stalled west of
Kiska and will slowly weaken in-place through Friday. The ridge
will eventually be squeezed by the low out west and the low
dropping across the Southwest Mainland. This means that fog/low
stratus coverage will shrink to middle of the Bering between the
Adak/Atka and Pribilof Islands area by Friday into the weekend.
Moisture from a low will push into Southwest Alaska by Saturday,
allowing for increased rain chances over the Southwest Mainland
including the Alaska Peninsula. This will be non- convective, but
isolated thunderstorms over the Kuskokwim regions will be possible
(10 to 20% chance) before the moisture and cooler air makes its
way north.

-JAR/ER

&&
.LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7: Sunday through Wednesday)...

Sunday will see unsettled weather for Southwest and Southcentral
Alaska due to a low moving into the western Gulf south of Kodiak
Island. This low will push moisture into the Southwest Mainland
and coastal Southcentral Alaska including Kodiak Island.
Widespread rainfall over the aforementioned regions will result.
Easterly waves moving into Southcentral will allow for shower
activity over the Copper River Basin and the Mat-Su through
Wednesday. The Bering will be in-between lows and will be
relatively calm through Monday. The Gulf low will begin to
progress eastward on Monday, which will decrease rain chances for
the Alaska Peninsula and coastal Southcentral while the Aleutian
ridge erodes during that time frame. The Bering low will slowly
move eastward through Wednesday due to a blocking high over the
Bering Strait.

A front from the Bering low will track across the Aleutians,
bringing a period of rain and gusty winds before the front stalls
and weakens between the Pribilof Islands and Unalaska by
Wednesday. For Southcentral, the Gulf Low continues moving east
through Wednesday, but rainfall will linger over coastal
Southcentral and Kodiak Island. An upper level ridge will begin to
build over the interior Monday night. There is higher confidence
for continued scattered showers and thunderstorms for the Alaska
Peninsula and Southwest Alaska from the anticyclonic flow and
easterly waves.

-SS/JAR

&&
.AVIATION...

PANC...VFR conditions and light westerly winds prevail.

&&

The office that day

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

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jun 18, 2:08 PM AKDTRed Flag WarningAFCMatanuska-Susitna34 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.