Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Valdez, AK

FXAK68 PAFC 100107 AFDAFC

Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 507 PM AKDT Thu Apr 9 2026

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

Clear skies, calm winds, and warming temperatures across most of Southcentral today, with the exception of some lifting areas of low stratus of Kachemak Bay, Kodiak, and the Copper River Basin.
By evening, a tightening surface pressure gradient along the coast will induce gusty offshore winds along the Gulf coast for locations like Seward, Whittier, and Valdez. Expect similar conditions overnight tonight as this morning, with the potential for low stratus and/or fog to build in along Cook Inlet communities, including Anchorage for Friday morning. While higher surface pressure and weak winds support fog formation, there's a question of whether high clouds streaming in ahead of the first trough will disrupt radiational cooling and fog formation.

Skies will begin to fill with the potential for precipitation returning by Friday afternoon as a frontal boundary over Southwest Alaska finally makes it's way into Southcentral. Maintaining generally weak flow aloft, areas that are typically sheltered by downsloping wind effects will not be as protected with this system. However, the moisture content and energy associated with this system is unimpressive, leading to a light round of rain/snow mix late Friday morning for Mat/Su, Anchorage, and Western Kenai.
This will transition to a plain rain by the afternoon and moving out of the area, bringing an end to the precipitation by the late afternoon.

Drier, but mostly cloudy, conditions return for Saturday, though the next trough will begin moving in later that afternoon. Kodiak Island and Western Susitna will be the first locations to see precipitation as the front moves through Saturday afternoon and evening. As the upper trough progresses, it develops a surface low in the northern Gulf that will bring more widespread precipitation to Mainland Southcentral from Saturday evening into early Sunday morning. Similarly to the pattern Friday, with weak flow aloft, downsloping is expected to play less of a role, allowing for widespread light precipitation to fill in across most of Southcentral. Precipitation type is currently expected to begin as a rain/snow mix for nighttime/early morning periods, and plain rain into the late morning/afternoon.

-CL
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