Atmospheric river forecast to bring heavy snow and rain to Northern Alaska
An atmospheric river is forecast to impact Northern Alaska on Thursday, January 23, 2025, bringing in strong winds along with heavy snow through the weekend.
Image credit: NOAA/GOES-West, RAMMB/CIRA, The Watchers. Acquired at 17:10 UTC on January 23, 2025
An atmospheric river is forecast to affect Northern Alaska from Thursday, January 23, through Sunday, bringing heavy snow and rain to the region. Residents are advised to prepare for hazardous travel conditions, including icy roads, reduced visibility from falling and blowing snow, water pooling on roads, and weakened or unstable sea ice.
The storm is expected to bring high winds and heavy snow above 305 m (1 000 feet) in elevation, with blowing snow and rain at higher elevations anticipated across the West Coast and the western interior of Alaska.
The system will move inland into the central and eastern interior regions from Friday through the weekend, potentially bringing the coldest temperatures recorded this winter.
Very heavy wet snow is expected from McGrath to Tanana to Bettles, with snow mixing with rain at times especially east of this line. Very cold temperatures, possibly the coldest thus far this winter, will follow this system and settle across the area by the middle of next week.
Southerly gusts exceeding 97 km/h (60 mph) are possible during the storm, with temperatures near and above 0 °C (32 °F) reducing the impact of blowing snow. Snowfall of up to 30 cm (1 foot) is expected in the Nulato Hills, Seward Peninsula, and Kobuk Valley.
References:
1 Area Forecast Discussion – NWS – January 22, 2025
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
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