Quiet across much of Alaska with rain continuing in Southeast

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The extension of sunshine that we saw through the weekend remains with us across Southcentral Alaska. Although the nights are getting longer, the afternoons are still pleasant to get outdoors.

A ridge of high pressure over northeast Alaska is greatly responsible for the recent downtick in activity. While this is also keeping us on the quiet side, it’s allowing for temperatures to really cool off through the night. While Anchorage didn’t officially bottom out at freezing this morning, there were many spots across Southcentral where lows dipped into the 20s. It’s one of the cooler mornings we’ve seen over the last week and largely the coolest week in terms of overnight lows since early May.

While the quiet weather will continue for much of Southcentral, there are signs of a bit more cloud coverage by week’s end, with rain expected Saturday night into Sunday. Overall, it’s a significant improvement from the wet weather we saw grip the region through the summer months.

Speaking of wet weather, rain and breezy conditions continue for Southeast Alaska. An area of low pressure moving north through the eastern Gulf of Alaska is hugging the coastline. This is keeping the greatest winds and heaviest rain through the Southern Inner Channels. It’s possible that Ketchikan could see up to one inch of rain today, while rain accumulation decreases down to a quarter of an inch across the Northern Inner Channels. While some dry time can be expected through the week, Southeast is largely trending on the wetter side. The better chance for widespread rain and cooler conditions looks to arrive Friday through early next week.

Hopefully, you’re getting outside and enjoying the fall colors — the outlook ahead shows cooler weather will take hold as we welcome in October.

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