Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Edna Bay, AK

SHORT TERM
/Friday and Friday night/...Showers are dotting the landscape of SE AK this morning. Rain, rain/snow mix, and snow are all being reported. The snow and rain/snow mix is mainly along and north of the Icy Strait corridor. South of that area is rain.

Going forward, these showers will continue with the snow retreating farther to the north. So as the day goes on, the Icy Strait corridor area should see less and less now and more rain.

At the same time, these showers will diminish today so expect drying weather today. But it won't last long as the next front, that will bring the next round of precip, approaches from the south later today and will last into tomorrow. So whatever breaks in the precip you get today, enjoy it as much as you can as more rain and/or rain/snow mix is likely.

Moisture amounts won't be much for this time of year and snow accumulation will remain minimal.


LONG TERM
/Saturday through Tuesday/...Minimal changes have been made to the long term, with minor tweaks focusing around inner channel winds. A front associated with a surface level low in the western gulf will sweep northeast Friday night, passing over the panhandle Saturday and bringing around half an inch of rain in 24 hours. The northern interior panhandle will see this rain transition to more of a rain/snow mix overnight, with higher elevated areas seeing fully snow into midday Saturday. 24 hour snow accumulations for highest elevations are still sitting around 3 inches, with areas closer to sea level seeing around an inch or less. After the front pushes through going into Saturday afternoon, developing showers in the wake will keep light rain in the forecast for the rest of Saturday, trickling out overnight.
Breaks in the clouds will start to appear Sunday morning, with a majority of the panhandle potentially able to see sun peaking through throughout Sunday.

The next system over the eastern Aleutians is expected to send a front into the panhandle through midday Monday, bringing rain through the rest of the day and Tuesday. Through the entirety of this system, around an inch of rain is expected, with the outer coast seeing between an inch and an inch and a half. With colder temperatures persisting in the northern interior panhandle, many areas of the northern panhandle will likely see a rain/snow mix for this time, with the Klondike Highway potentially seeing up to 6 inches of snow with this system.

Winds won't be much of an issue through the period, with 20 to 30 kts in the gulf decreasing to 5 to 10 kts between systems. Inner channel winds look to increase to around 20 kts up Lynn Canal and out of Icy Strait as the pressure gradient tightens early next week. High temperatures are sitting at the high 30s for the northern interior panhandle and increasing to the low 40s as you move south. The southern panhandle will see highs slightly increase as each front moves through, though will stay in the high 40s. Low temperatures won't be too much lower than the highs, though they look to drop to around freezing early next week.

AVIATION
/Until 12Z Saturday/...CIG & VIS conditions will primarily stay around the MVFR flight category for the period as a generally active weather pattern is in place. SFC winds will remain on the lighter side for the northern panhandle. For the southern panhandle, breezier conditions are expected as the SFC pressure gradient is tighter down there. LLWS magnitudes of up to around 30 kt centered aloft at around 2 kft out of a generally southeasterly direction are anticipated, especially as a as time progresses as a new frontal system approaches from the SW.

MARINE
Main marine concerns in the short term forecast are centered around the next low pressure that will move through the Gulf today and tomorrow. The low will move through the western Gulf today into tonight. The associated front will swing south- to-north later today into tonight, reaching the northern panhandle Saturday morning. By Saturday afternoon, the low will reach the eastern Gulf and will continue to move southeast Saturday evening.

Outside waters: Most of today, the gulf waters will be on the quieter side, with winds around 5 to 15 knots. As the previously mentioned front moves north into the area tonight, southeasterly winds will swing to the southwest and will be around 20 to to 30 knots. As the low center travels through Saturday, the winds on the south side will be strongest at around 15 to 20 knots. Some higher wind speeds up to 25 kts are possible.

Lighter westerly winds are likely Sunday, at around 5 to 15 knots.

Inner Channels: The inner channel forecast will be a challenge. As the front travels through the area late tonight into tomorrow, we would expect southerly winds to increase. But with the source low so far away, winds may only pick up to around 15 to 20 knots.
Stronger winds, up to 20 to 30 kts, likely for Clarence Strait.
Winds up to 25 knots possible for Stephens Passage.

As far as today is concerned, southerly winds for channels south of Icy Strait, eastern winds near Icy Strait, and northerly winds likely for areas north of Icy Strait. Strongest winds will be in Clarence Strait at upwards of 25 to 30 knots. Much lighter elsewhere at around 10 to 15 kts.

AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
PUBLIC...None.
MARINE...Small Craft Advisory for PKZ036-641>644-661>664-671-672.