Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Buckland, AK

KEY WEATHER MESSAGES

Central and Eastern Interior...

- Widespread light snow continues across the Interior today, shifting east to along the Alcan Border for Sunday. Additional snow accumulations through Sunday around 1-3".

- Cloudy skies today will give way to clearer skies tonight into Sunday, supporting colder temperatures and areas of dense fog as conditions turn dry to start the work week.

- Highs this weekend in the teens and 20s with lows in the single digits and teens. Lows below zero possible Sunday morning.

- Temperatures trend colder next week, with highs dropping to the single digits and teens with lows mostly in the single digits below zero. Coldest spots especially by midweek see highs struggle to get above zero with lows reaching the double digits below zero.

West Coast and Western Interior...

- Quiet and dry conditions this morning will give way to a frontal boundary lifting northeast into Southwest Alaska later today into Sunday with strong winds and snow.

- E/SE winds increase along the West Coast and St. Lawrence Island will continue into tonight with up to Gale Force to low end Storm Force winds expected offshore. Elevated water levels above the normal high tide line across the West Coast, highest around the Yukon Delta.

- Snow chances steadily increase for St. Lawrence Island and the Yukon Delta tonight, shifting north towards the Seward Peninsula for late Sunday into Monday as the Northwest Coast remains predominantly dry.

- Highs in the teens and 20s with lows in the single digits above and below zero and teens. Warmer conditions on St. Lawrence Island with highs in the 20s and 30s with lows in the 20s.
Temperatures trend colder overall early next week.

North Slope and Brooks Range...

- Widespread light snow continues across the Central/Eastern Brooks Range north to the Eastern Arctic Coast, shifting northeast to along the Alcan Border and Arctic Coast Sunday into Monday. Additional snow accumulations through Monday around 1-3", locally higher out towards Kaktovik.

- Snow chances along the Alcan Border and Eastern Arctic Coast shift to being confined to the coast Monday into Tuesday as snow chances diminish by midweek as predominantly dry conditions prevail.

- Highs in the teens and 20s across the North Slope and single digits and teens in the Brooks Range, with lows in single digits and teens to below zero in the Brooks Range and Arctic Plains.
Temperatures trend colder early next week. Coldest spots especially by midweek seeing highs struggle to get above zero with lows reaching the double digits below zero.

FORECAST ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Tonight through Tuesday.
Very light and off snow showers will still be possible through tomorrow under and area of weak troughing, mainly over the eastern half of the state. There is also a weak mesolow currently moving over the White Mtns. This will likely enhance some of the show showers moving out over into the Yukon Flats as it tracks to the NE.
Overall, higher pressure is going to dominate the mainland throughout this period in the forecast, as the areas of low pressure track well south of the region. There is also going to be colder air advection coming in from the north over the Beaufort Sea, and this colder air mass settling in, along with clearing and drying conditions, will lead to a cooldown and temperatures dropping off to closer to where they should be for this time of year within the Interior, with generally teens for highs and singles for lows. There will also be some locations within the Brooks Range and North Slope/Arctic Plains. Some of these locations could even see temperatures dropping down into the double digits below zero. The overall trend is to continue to dry out and get colder as skies continue to clear going into the early part of next week.

.EXTENDED FORECAST DAYS 4-7...Tuesday night through next Saturday.
As an area of high pressure sets in over the Chukchi Sea, it is going to allow for much colder and drier air to be advected in from the north, which will draw in the coldest air mass so far for this season. This will allow for there to be many locations within the Mainland, and especially for portions of the western Interior and Arctic Plains to experience sub-zero temperatures, even for highs, especially by Wednesday. As conditions look to remain fairly clear and dry, the overall cooling trend will continue into the following weekend. Some locations within the Yukon Flats will also have sub- zero temperatures for highs towards the end of next week. Ensembles have continued to show that the majority of passing lows will remain far enough for there to be very little to no impact in terms of precipitation and wind for the southern portions of the CWA, however, some of the deterministic models are also alluding to a possible major shortwave trough moving up into the Bering Sea going into the following weekend, which may help to spread more moisture into the YK Delta, and over the mainland with a better probability of snow.
Increasing PWATs also hint at this, with generally a better chance of snow showers if this verifies.

Coastal Hazard Potential Days 3 and 4...None

AFG WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
AK...None.
PK...Small Craft Advisory for PKZ801-802.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ801.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ802.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ803-808>812-852-855-858.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ803-804-807.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ804-805-807.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ805-852.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ806.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ806.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ811-812-857-858.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ813-814-860.
Gale Warning for PKZ816.
Gale Warning for PKZ817.
Gale Warning for PKZ850.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ850.
Gale Warning for PKZ851.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ853.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ853.
Gale Warning for PKZ854.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ856.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ856.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ857.
Heavy Freezing Spray Warning for PKZ859.