


Ice Forecast
Issued by NWS Anchorage, AK
Issued by NWS Anchorage, AK
976 FZAK80 PAFC 012222 ICEAFC Sea Ice Forecast for Western and Arctic Alaskan Coastal Waters National Weather Service - Alaska Sea Ice Program 222 PM AKDT Friday 1 August 2025 FORECAST VALID...Wednesday 6 August 2025 ANALYSIS CONFIDENCE...High to moderate SYNOPSIS...A low will move east across the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas through Sunday, then a high will move east across the same area Monday through Wednesday. -BEAUFORT SEA- PKZ505-Central US Arctic Offshore- PKZ510-Eastern US Arctic Offshore- Ice covered. PKZ813-Point Franklin to Cape Halkett out to 15 nm- PKZ814-Cape Halkett to Flaxman Island out to 15 nm- PKZ815-Flaxman Island to Demarcation Point out to 15 nm- PKZ859-Point Franklin to Cape Halkett from 15 to 75 nm- PKZ860-Cape Halkett to Flaxman Island from 15 to 80 nm- PKZ861-Flaxman Island to Demarcation Point from 15 to 75 nm- The main ice edge in the Beaufort Sea extends from near 69 49N 141 52W to 70 28N 144 17W to 70 40N 140 17W to 69 50N 138 29W and continues into Canadian waters. The ice edge is open water. From land-based points in Alaska, the main ice edge extends from 35 nm east of Kaktovik to 25 nm northwest of Kaktovik to 55 nm north of Demarcation Point to 50 nm northeast of Demarcation Point and continues in Canadian waters. The ice edge is open water. FORECAST FOR THE BEAUFORT SEA (DAYS 1 through 5)...Forecast confidence is moderate. Off the north coast of Alaska, southerly winds will shift to southwesterly Sunday then northerly Monday. Winds then become easterly Tuesday and Wednesday. Through these wind direction shifts, sea ice will move up to 10 nm/day as it continues to gradually melt. The direction of sea ice movement will be with the wind direction except when winds are light and sea ice moves with local tides and currents. -CHUKCHI SEA- PKZ500-Western US Arctic Offshore- PKZ505-Central US Arctic Offshore- PKZ813-Point Franklin to Cape Halkett out to 15 nm- PKZ859-Point Franklin to Cape Halkett from 15 to 75 nm- Ice covered. PKZ858-Cape Beaufort to Point Franklin from 15 to 85 nm- The main ice edge in the Chukchi Sea extends from near Utqiagvik to 70 53N 165 21W to 71 39N 166 58W to 69 51N 167 40W to 71 19N 173 51W and continues into Russian waters. The ice edge is open water. From land-based points in Alaska, the main ice edge extends from near Utqiagvik to 160 nm west-southwest of Utqiagvik to 180 nm west of Utqiagvik to 65 nm north of Cape Lisburne to 205 nm northwest of Cape Lisburne and continues into Russian waters. The ice edge is open water. FORECAST FOR THE CHUKCHI SEA (DAYS 1 through 5)...Forecast confidence is high. Southerly winds will persist through Saturday then become northerly Sunday and easterly Monday. Winds become light and variable Tuesday and Wednesday. Sea ice will continue to melt as it drifts slightly with the direction of the wind. && Schreck