North Pacific low to bring rain and snow back to Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – For the second day in a row, much of Alaska will be treated to mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. This comes as high pressure remains in control across much of the state, with some coastal locations seeing rain and snow.

The heaviest rain this morning and through the day will stay near the Aleutians, Kodiak Island, and through parts of the Panhandle. This comes as a low in the North Pacific begins to trek closer to the Aleutians over the next 24 hours, bringing wet and windy conditions to the islands. An accompanying warm front will also lift through the Gulf of Alaska leading to the return to widespread rain for Southcentral and Southeast Alaska. This will also lead to increasing winds, with a slow warming trend back into the lower 50s by Friday.

While rain is set to make a return to Southcentral, the heaviest will stay confined to coastal regions where up to one to 1.5 inches of rain looks possible. Further inland, lighter amounts will occur, with many locations seeing anywhere from a quarter to half an inch of rainfall. While rain will be the dominant precipitation type, higher elevations of the Anchorage and Eagle River hillsides could see light snow or wintry mix, with the Copper River Basin likely seeing all snow with this event. Expect only a few inches of snow, outside of the mountains where several inches can be expected. Snow will also build north to the Alaska Range and parts of Interior Alaska.

Southeast will also see widespread activity with winds increasing through the week, with the heaviest rain looking to stay confined to the Northern Inner Channels. There will be some dry time embedded within each day — however, the overall trend will be wet and breezy for the Panhandle.

Looking ahead into the weekend and beyond, the overall forecast trend suggests a cooling pattern will emerge. It’s highly likely that we’ll spend much of next week with highs in the upper 30s and lower 40s.

Have a sunny Wednesday!

Copyright 2023 KTUU. All rights reserved.