Winter Storm Warning 3, NWS Fairbanks, AK

Northern Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Fairbanks AK
455 AM AKST Wed Jan 14 2026

.SYNOPSIS...
The cold temperatures in the Interior will begin to lift
overnight Wednesday night into Thursday as a high-impact, warm,
moist airmass makes its way towards Alaska during the later half
of the week. The warm front will move north through the day on
Thursday, bringing heavy snow primarily to the Western and Central
Interior with potential for mixed precipitation in the Southern
Interior and Alaska Range passes. Winds through the Alaska Range
passes will begin to strengthen tonight, reaching their peak
Thursday night. Strong winds may result in blizzard conditions in
the Alaska Range Passes, as well as along portions of the West
Coast.

&&

.KEY WEATHER MESSAGES...
Central and Eastern Interior...
-Bitterly cold temperatures as cold as the 40s below zero continue
 for valley locations under clear skies (With a cold spot near
 Tanana around 50 below) with temperatures warming into the
 10s/20s below zero under cloudy skies.

-A strong storm brings heavy precipitation and strong winds to large
portions of the Alaska Range and interior late this week. The worst
conditions are expected Thursday night through Friday.
	-For the Richardson Highway, up to 20 inches of snow and south
     wind gusts up to 80 mph are likely to result in blizzard
     conditions.
	-For the Parks Highway, up to 12 inches of snow and south wind gusts
     up to 65 mph are likely to result in blizzard conditions.
    -For the Steese Highway 3 to 6 inches of snow and southerly
     wind gusts up to 60 mph are likely to result in blizzard
     conditions.
	-For the Dalton Highway, up to 12 inches of snow and south wind
	gusts up to 35 mph are likely to result in hazardous driving
	conditions.
	-For the Fairbanks area, significantly warmer temperatures that
  may warm above freezing, strong southerly wind gusts up to 40
  mph, and up to 3 inches of snow are possible.

West Coast and Western Interior...
-Bitterly cold and mostly clear through the evening with interior
 valleys in the 40s/50s below zero and wind chills as cold as 60
 below zero.

-A strong storm brings heavy precipitation and strong winds to large
portions of the Alaska Range and interior late this week. The worst
conditions are expected Thursday night through Friday.
	-For St. Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait, 3 to 6 inches of
    snow and wind gusts up to 60 mph are likely to result in
    blizzard conditions.
	-For the Western Interior, 6 to 12 inches of snow and wind gusts
    up to 35 mph.
	-Along other portions of the West Coast, 3 to 6 inches of snow
  are likely.

 -Snow chances and much warm temperatures continue through this
  weekend.

North Slope and Brooks Range...
-Cold Weather Advisories remain in effect through Wednesday afternoon
 for wind chills as low as 70 below zero across the eastern
 Arctic Coast and Brooks Range.

-A strong winter storm impacts portions of the Brooks Range Friday
 morning, including Atigun Pass with snow and wind gusts up to 50
 mph leading to potential for blizzard conditions.

-Southwest winds along the North Slope gust up to 40 mph
 Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning after a lull on
 Tuesday resulting in localized blizzard conditions at times.

&&

.FORECAST ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION...
500mb vorticity shows the main system responsible for the clouds in
the Southeast Interior is traveling east into Canada. However there
is another weaker low moving into South Central that should bump
chances for snow in the Alaska Range and Middle Tanana Valley this
afternoon. By tonight into Thursday morning, skies across the
Interior should be mostly clear and temperatures in the eastern
Interior should dip. Temperatures in the Western Interior will stay
in the 40s/50s below with the 485 dam low over the Beaufort Sea
extending down to the YK Delta. The associated 1004 mb surface low
is going to keep winds along the Arctic Coast elevated until
Thursday.

On Thursday, moisture is being pulled northward between a 978 mb low
over the Pacific and a 1044mb high over the western coast of Canada.
Its associated warm front will push north towards the Alaska Range
and the Interior bringing significant chances for snow and gusty
winds. There will also be a very strong pressure gradient over the
Alaska Range resulting in strong winds and may lead to blizzard
conditions in areas around passes. Much of the Interior will see
moderate to heavy accumulations of snow. Along the West Coast there
will be gusty winds and snow as the gradient over the Bering gets
tighter. The warm air mass also brings a low probability for wintery
mix on Friday, as temperatures warm up for areas from the AK Range
into the southern portions of the Eastern/Central Interior.

&&

.EXTENDED FORECAST DAYS 4-7...
Going into the extended, a ridge becomes established over the Alaska
panhandle providing generally southerly flow to the mainland for the
the weekend and into the start of next week. As a result,
temperatures for most our area should remain warmer than average
(above 0F) through Tuesday. Models are uncertain on the timing
and exact location, but there may be a few weak systems that move
up along the West Coast and into the Western Interior, providing a
few more rounds of light snow. At the very end of the forecast
period, the ridge axis appears to shift from the Panhandle to the
West Coast, cutting off the Interior and North Slope from the
southerly flow and bringing in, at least briefly, colder arctic
air.

&&

.AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AK...Winter Storm Watch for AKZ811>813-819-828>834-846-851-852.
     Winter Storm Watch for AKZ847>850.
     Cold Weather Advisory for AKZ804-805-809-828>830-852.
     Winter Storm Watch for AKZ809-820-821-827.
     Cold Weather Advisory for AKZ831-832-846.
PK...Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ804.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ805.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ806-807.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ814-860-861.
     Gale Warning for PKZ815.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ816-817-850-853.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ851.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ854.
     Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ856.
&&

TROYKE