Sheep Mountain Cross Country Ski Trails Snow Report

148 FXAK68 PAFC 260108 AFDAFC Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Anchorage AK 508 PM AKDT Sat Jul 25 2026 .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHCENTRAL ALASKA (Days 1 through 3)... *** A Flood Advisory remains in effect through late this evening for the Little Susitna River downstream of the Parks Highway. *** Summer has returned to most of Southcentral this weekend with sun, a light breeze and temperatures in the upper 60s / lower 70s. Anchorage`s high of 71 degrees is the hottest day of July so far; a far cry from highs in the 50s this past week. In Kodiak, northwest winds, albeit much lower than yesterday`s peak of 61 mph, a sunny sky and temperatures in the middle 60s will be replaced by rain this evening. Current placement satellite imagery of both a North Pacific ridge and a weak trough over Southwest Alaska compared with the 18Z and 0Z weather models` current placement of these features increasing forecaster confidence of fast-moving rain showers arriving in Kodiak Island this evening. Rain continues into mid-morning tomorrow with rainfall amounts ranging from 0.10" to 0.25"; highest in the mountains west of the city of Kodiak. As this low moves into the Gulf of Alaska, winds turn southerly into Homer and Kachemak Bay ranging from 10 to 20 knots late Sunday morning into the early afternoon hours. Also, wind direction changes to a more northerly direction through the lower Cook Inlet west of the Kenai Peninsula Monday ranging from 15 to 25 knots. Monday mornig`s weak ridging builds ahead of the passing of an afternoon / evening cold front through Southcentral bringing a mostly cloudy sky, widespread rain showers and temperatures cooling into the upper 50s / lower 60s. -Johnston && .SHORT TERM FORECAST SOUTHWEST ALASKA AND THE BERING SEA/ALEUTIANS (Days 1 through 3: Today through Monday)... Currently, an upper low is moving through Southwest Alaska. This is leading to a round of light rainfall over the eastern inland areas and the Alaska Peninsula (AKPEN). Gusty winds also accompanied this over bays and passes in the AKPEN and east of Unalaska. Behind this low is ridging, which is already over the Kuskokwim Delta and is leading to mostly clear skies. This ridging will continue to move into the rest of the Southwest mainland this evening into Sunday, leading to clearer skies for those areas as well. However, the Alaska Peninsula will still see rainfall as a moisture plume rides over a ridge in the Bering. Speaking of the Bering, a ridge is currently sitting over it, leading to less active weather over the Aleutians. However, this more stable air is leading to widespread fog and low stratus across the Aleutians today through Sunday. A front from a low south of the Kamchatka Peninsula pushes into the Bering on Sunday. This will allow for rainfall to progress through the Aleutians as the front flattens out the ridge for a bit. Southerly winds will accompany the front, but are not expected to be strong. By Monday afternoon, the front will expand into the Pribilof Islands and the Unalaska and Nikolski area. Meanwhile, a trough will drop over the Southwest Mainland on Monday, allowing for chances for rain. Behind the front, ridging will build back in, leading to rain chances decreasing and wind speeds to diminish, However, this will also lead to low stratus or fog formation once again. -JAR && .LONG TERM FORECAST (Days 4 through 7: Wednesday through Saturday)... By Wednesday, as weak ridging gives way to weak troughing over the Bering, several solutions favor weak troughs in the southern Gulf of Alaska as well. This remains an apparent inactive pattern allowing for less rainfall over the area and generally weaker wind flow through the region. By Thursday and Friday, the remaining ridging shifts eastward and slowly flattens as the pattern over the Aleutians and Bering becomes increasingly more progressive. The broad weak trough over much of Alaska and the Gulf will help to return rain chances to Southwest by Thursday. However, even as early as Wednesday, uncertainty is particularly high given the lack of dominant or defining pressure systems in the area. Weak ridges and troughs will continue the unsettled pattern in the area, suggesting potentially showery conditions, but lacking any strong driving forces to amplify precipitation or wind speeds significantly. -CL && .AVIATION... PANC...VFR conditions and light winds will persist. Winds flip to southerly this afternoon and then back to northeasterly tomorrow morning. && $$