Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Kodiak, AK

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

A front is currently passing through the East Bering. This front is bringing a band of precipitation along as it pushes eastward.
Precipitation will initially be snowfall, but due to warm air advection snow will transition to a rain/snow mix or rain at the back end of the front. Also behind the front over the Bering, low stratus/fog is possible. As the front pushes inland by this afternoon, snowfall will spread out across the Southwest Mainland.
Due to a cooler airmass in the mainland, precipitation will remain mostly snowfall until Wednesday afternoon. Snow amounts range from 1 to 3 inches before precipitation chances dwindle and snow transitions to a mix of rain and snow on Wednesday.
Additional shortwaves will drift in behind the front, allowing for mixed precipitation in the Bering and the Southwest Mainland through Friday morning. Wind speeds will remain elevated, but remain sub-small craft through Thursday night. Overnight snowfall will allow for an additional 0.5 to 1 inch of snowfall across the mainland Thursday night, but this will likely melt by the day as temperatures warm above freezing.

Meanwhile, a ridge will set up over the Bering by Friday morning, which will diminish precipitation chances and decrease wind speeds. However, a strong North Pacific Low looks to rise into the western Aleutians late Friday morning, which could bring strong gusty winds and moderate to heavy precipitation.

-JAR

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

An active pattern continues for mid-April with multiple systems bringing precipitation and cloud cover to the region. Broad upper- level troughing across the western Bering and coastal mainland will be in place to begin the period, placing the Aleutians and much of Southern Alaska in active quasi- southwest flow with embedded shortwaves. Kicking off the period on Thursday, precipitation will overspread much of Southcentral AK amid southwest flow.

On Friday afternoon, the front of a strong North Pacific low lifts across the Bering Sea, bringing mostly rain to the Aleutian Islands and widespread gales to the southern Bering. As the center of the system crosses into the Bering, winds weaken before reaching the mainland, and precipitation evolves into a rain/snow mix to all snow for the Alaska Peninsula and Southwest Coast by Sunday afternoon.

While uncertainty remains high concerning details beyond Friday, the upper- level low will remain in place across mainland Alaska, and unsettled weather will continue for Southwest and Southcentral through the start of next week. Temperatures will generally be near average.



AVIATION

PANC...VFR conditions and light winds will persist. Clouds above 5000 ft roll back in late tonight.

PA