Valdez Arm

PKZ722 · Coastal Waters Forecast, National Weather Service Anchorage Alaska · issued Mon, Sep 28, 3:03 PM AKDT

Tonight: Variable wind less than 10 kt becoming NE 10 kt after midnight. Seas 2 ft.

Valdez Arm on the map

The zone and the zones around it, tinted where a marine warning or advisory is in force. Tap a neighboring zone to open its forecast.

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Now

The nearest stations reporting each, as of Tue, Sep 29, 2:50 AM AKDT.

Wind: NNE 3 kt, gusts 4 kt at BLIA2
Water: 52°F at VDZA2

Alerts in force

No marine warning or advisory is in force for this zone.

What is normally issued here: in the past year NWS Anchorage (eastern waters) issued 26 Gale Warnings, 6 Storm Warnings, 5 Freezing Spray Warnings, 54 Small Craft Advisories for this zone.

The forecast

Coastal Waters Forecast from National Weather Service Anchorage Alaska, issued Mon, Sep 28, 3:03 PM AKDT, valid until Tue, Sep 29, 4:15 AM AKDT. Wind in knots, seas in feet.

Tonight: Variable wind less than 10 kt becoming NE 10 kt after midnight. Seas 2 ft.
Tuesday: NE wind 10 kt in the morning becoming variable less than 10 kt. Seas 2 ft.
Tuesday night: Variable wind less than 10 kt becoming NE wind 10 kt after midnight. Seas 2 ft. Widespread rain showers.
Wednesday: NE wind 15 kt. Seas 3 ft.
Wednesday night: NE wind 10 kt. Seas 2 ft.
Thursday: NE wind 10 kt. Seas 2 ft.
Friday through Saturday: NE wind 15 kt. Seas 3 ft.

Synopsis

Synopsis for the north gulf coast, kodiak island waters, cook inlet

A 992 mb low 60 nm S of Middleton Island moves to 70 nm S of Yakutat at 1002 mb by Tue afternoon before dissipating shortly afterwards. Its front moves from the North Gulf to the East Gulf by Tue afternoon before dissipating. A series of smaller disturbances clip the northern Gulf Tue afternoon through Wed afternoon.

Buoys and stations nearby

The latest report from each station within reach of the zone, nearest first. Distances in nautical miles from the middle of the zone.

Station	Distance	Wind	Water	Air	Pressure	Reported
BLIA2 Bligh Reef Light, AK	5 nm	NNE 3 kt, gusts 4		49°F	998.9 hPa	Tue, Sep 29, 2:50 AM AKDT
POTA2 Potato Point, AK	9 nm	NNE 6 kt, gusts 7		44°F	998.5 hPa	Tue, Sep 29, 2:30 AM AKDT
MRKA2 Middle Rock Light, AK	11 nm	NNE 4 kt, gusts 5		44°F	998.7 hPa	Tue, Sep 29, 2:30 AM AKDT
VDZA2 9454240 - Valdez, AK	19 nm	NE 2 kt, gusts 3	52°F	42°F	998.6 hPa	Tue, Sep 29, 2:30 AM AKDT
VDXA2 Valdez, AK	19 nm	N 1 kt, gusts 3		41°F		Tue, Sep 29, 2:52 AM AKDT
46060 WEST ORCA BAY - 8NM NW of Hinchinbrook Is., AK	21 nm	S 8 kt, gusts 10	53°F	50°F	998.4 hPa	Tue, Sep 29, 2:40 AM AKDT

The past year

Warnings, watches and advisories the National Weather Service issued for this zone over the past 12 months, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet’s archive.

Product	Issued	Most recent
Gale Warning	26	Wed, Mar 18, 2026, 2:43 PM AKDT
Storm Warning	6	Fri, Feb 20, 2026, 4:33 AM AKST
Freezing Spray Warning	5	Tue, Mar 10, 2026, 4:28 PM AKDT
Small Craft Advisory	54	Sun, Aug 30, 2026, 3:27 PM AKDT

What this means

Marine forecasts give wind in knots (1 knot is 1.15 mph) and seas in feet, except the high seas forecasts, which give seas in meters. Seas are the significant wave height, the average of the highest third of the waves; individual waves may be more than twice that. On the Great Lakes the forecast gives waves, not seas. "Wave Detail" splits the seas into the wind waves and each swell, with its direction and period.

Each coastal office writes a Coastal Waters Forecast for the bays, sounds and ocean out to 20 to 60 nautical miles, or on the Great Lakes a Nearshore Marine Forecast within 5 nautical miles of shore; the Open Lakes Forecast covers the rest of each lake. The Ocean Prediction Center and the National Hurricane Center write the Offshore Waters Forecasts out to about 250 nautical miles, and the High Seas Forecasts beyond. Forecasts are issued at least twice a day and updated when they go wrong.

Small Craft Advisory: Winds or conditions hazardous to small boats. The thresholds are set by each NWS region: typically sustained winds or frequent gusts of 20 to 25 knots up to 33 knots, and seas of 5 to 7 feet or more.
Gale Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 34 to 47 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Storm Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 48 to 63 knots, not from a tropical cyclone.
Hurricane Force Wind Warning: Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 64 knots or more, not from a tropical cyclone.
Special Marine Warning: A thunderstorm or squall over the water with winds or gusts of 34 knots or more, hail of 3/4 inch or more, or a waterspout, for up to two hours.
Hazardous Seas Warning: Wave heights or steepness at or above the office’s warning threshold, when the wind alone does not warrant a warning.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning: Spray freezing on a vessel at 2 cm (3/4 inch) an hour or more.
Tropical Storm and Hurricane Warnings: Tropical storm (34 to 63 knots) or hurricane (64 knots or more) conditions expected within 36 hours. Watches: possible within 48 hours.

Nearby

Open the live map with marine zones and buoys The hour-by-hour forecast for the middle of the zone Every Alaska zone

Sources

Coastal Waters Forecast CWFAER from National Weather Service Anchorage Alaska, issued Mon, Sep 28, 3:03 PM AKDT. Original at NWS. Buoy reports from the National Data Buoy Center. Past products from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. Zone outlines from the NWS marine and offshore zone boundaries. Warnings and advisories from the NWS API, read 11:14 UTC. All public domain, from the National Weather Service.