Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Gambell, AK

KEY WEATHER MESSAGES
Central and Eastern Interior...
- A quick-hitting cold front will bring around 1 inch of light snow beginning tonight for the Central Interior and travel eastward and be out of the state by Friday afternoon.

- A more robust system will make its way into the Central Interior bringing widespread light to moderate snowfall beginning early Saturday morning. Several inches of snow is expected.

- As the cold front moves through Saturday evening/night, wind gusts as high as 50 mph in the hills and 25 mph in Fairbanks are possible. Another round of light snow then moves through on Sunday with a few more inches possible.

- Additional chances for snow are possible next week.

West Coast and Western Interior...
- Light snowfall will persist for much of the West Coast through this evening. Gusty easterly to southeasterly winds are expected to peak as high as 50 mph as the cold front passes over the West Coast and Western Interior. Areas of blowing snow persist today.

- Another system will make its way into the West Coast beginning Friday morning with moderate to heavy snow expected. Several inches of snow is expected over most of the West Coast with significant snow becoming more likely in the Interior.

- Northerly winds will strengthen then shift to more westerly as the associated cold front moves through on Friday through Saturday. This could create blizzard to near blizzard conditions.

- Additional chances for snow are possible next week.

North Slope and Brooks Range..
- Cold Weather Advisories are issued through Saturday morning for wind chills as low as 65 degrees below zero. Northeasterly to easterly winds will decrease Friday afternoon before briefly restrengthening slightly early Saturday morning.

- A cold front will pass over the Western Arctic Coast beginning this afternoon and travel eastward out of the state by Friday evening. Light snowfall is expected as this front passes but it will be heaviest around southern slopes of the western Brooks Range.

- Another system will make its way into the Western Arctic Coast early Saturday morning. Most snowfall will remain in the southern Brooks Range ranging from 2 to 4 inches.

FORECAST ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
The overall pattern remains the same with a high over the NPAC, a trough in the Arctic ranging from the Canadian Archipelago to the Chukchi Sea and a deeper trough extending to the Gulf of Alaska.
This is all allowing for some pretty active weather in the Interior. The first is an arctic cold front gradually moving from west to east this afternoon through tomorrow afternoon. An additional 1 to 3 inches of snow is expected from the North Slope to the Interior with the highest amounts expected along the Western Brooks Range and North Slope.

The main story is a low moving into the Bering Sea and strengthening on Friday. Snow moves into the Yukon Delta Friday morning and continues to progress northeast through Saturday.
Blizzard conditions are expected from St. Lawrence Island to the Yukon Delta and a blizzard warning has just been issued. Elsewhere over the West Coast and Interior, a plethora of Winter Storm Watches and Advisories have been issued. Significant snow is expected over a wide swath of the Interior as this snow moves northward. One thing to be considered is the possibility for a glaze of ice in the Yukon Delta Friday night into Saturday morning, but this is a low chance overall. Everywhere else will remain all snow.

Saturday night, as the cold air advection moves through the Interior, winds will likely increase with gusts up to 50 mph in the Interior and up to 25 mph in the Valleys. This may result in blowing snow across the Interior, especially in the terrain. The snow will all end Sunday night after a second wave of fluffy snow moves through Sunday afternoon and evening. Additional chances for snow exist next week and that will be touched on in the extended.

.EXTENDED FORECAST DAYS 4-7...
There have been some changes to the extended, what was once looking colder than normal is trending a bit wetter. The main culprit the high pressure over the NPAC is appearing to not extend as far north, low pressure systems in the Bering are trending stronger faster, not allowing the high to build rapidly.
This will give chances for a few rounds of snow next week, one of which being on Tuesday and Wednesday. This has trended much stronger and models are indicating a low around 980mb around the Gulf of Anadyr. There is a potential for another round of moderate to heavy snow across much of Northern Alaska. The most uncertain part is, will it make it into the Interior or get blocked by the high. Given the recent trends, a lean towards more active weather next week seems probable.

Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None

AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
AK...Blizzard Warning for AKZ801.
Cold Weather Advisory for AKZ801>810.
Winter Storm Watch for AKZ822>824-828>830-851-852.
Winter Weather Advisory for AKZ814>818-820-821.
Blizzard Warning for AKZ825>827.
Winter Storm Watch for AKZ834-838>847.
PK...Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ801-802-816-817-850-854.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ803-804-811.
Gale Warning for PKZ805-852-853.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ806.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ807-856.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ808-855.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ809.
Gale Warning for PKZ812-857.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ813-814-859.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ815-860-861.
Brisk Wind Advisory for PKZ851.
Gale Warning for PKZ858.