Ice Forecast
Issued by NWS Anchorage, AK
Issued by NWS Anchorage, AK
175 FZAK80 PAFC 230018 ICEAFC Sea Ice Forecast for Western and Arctic Alaskan Coastal Waters National Weather Service - Alaska Sea Ice Program 318 PM AKST Wednesday 20 November 2024 FORECAST VALID...Monday 25 November 2024 ANALYSIS CONFIDENCE...High to moderate SYNOPSIS...High pressure will persist across the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas through Wednesday. A low will move northeast across the Bering Sea toward the Seward Peninsula through Monday, then high pressure will drift south over the northern Bering Sea through Wednesday. -BEAUFORT SEA- PKZ505-Central US Arctic Offshore- PKZ510-Eastern US Arctic Offshore- 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- Ice covered. FORECAST FOR THE BEAUFORT SEA (DAYS 1 through 5)...Forecast confidence is high. Forecast confidence is high. Winds will be light and variable through Sunday, then increase out of the northwest and west Monday through Wednesday. Overall, sea ice will continue to grow and recently opened areas will quickly fill in with new sea ice. Sea ice will generally drift with local currents through Sunday then drift east Monday through Wednesday. -CHUKCHI SEA- PKZ500-Western US Arctic Offshore- PKZ505-Central US Arctic Offshore- PKZ808-Cape Espenberg to Motherwood Point out to 10 nm- PKZ809- Motherwood Point to Cape Krusenstern out to 10 nm- PKZ811-Cape Thompson to Cape Beaufort out to 15 nm- PKZ812-Cape Beaufort to Point Franklin out to 15 nm- PKZ813-Point Franklin to Cape Halkett out to 15 nm- PKZ855-Kotzebue Sound greater than 10 nm- PKZ857-Cape Thompson to Cape Beaufort from 15 to 85 nm- PKZ858-Cape Beaufort to Point Franklin from 15 to 85 nm- PKZ859-Point Franklin to Cape Halkett from 15 to 75 nm- Ice covered. PKZ807-Wales to Cape Espenberg out to 15 nm- PKZ810-Cape Krusenstern to Cape Thompson out to 15 nm- PKZ856-Wales to Cape Thompson greater than 15 nm- In the Chukchi Sea, the main ice edge extends from near Wales to 67 1N 164 56W to 69 17N 166 53W to 69 32N 168 42W to 68 5N 167 26W to 66 2N 169 33W. The ice edge is open water. From land-based points in Alaska, the main ice edge extends from near Wales to 25 nm west of Cape Krusenstern to 25 nm northwest of Cape Lisburne to 65 nm northwest of Cape Lisburne to 20 nm southwest of Point Hope to 20 nm northwest of Diomede. The ice edge is open water. FORECAST FOR THE CHUKCHI SEA (DAYS 1 through 5)...Forecast confidence is moderate. Winds will be moderate northerly to northeasterly through Sunday, then become northwesterly to westerly Monday through Wednesday. Locations that had sea ice prior to this weeks storm will see new sea ice grow quickly once again. Additional new sea ice growth is also expected to make more of the Chukchi Sea ice covered by Wednesday. Overall, expect the ice edge near the Bering Strait expand southward 40 to 50 nm through Wednesday. -BERING SEA- PKZ763-Kuskokwim Delta and Etolin Strait out to 15 nm- PKZ801-Etolin Strait to Dall Point out to 15 nm- PKZ802-Dall Point to Kwikpak Pass out to 15 nm- PKZ803-Kwikpak Pass to Cape Stephens out to 15 nm- PKZ804-Cape Stephens to Moses Point out to 15 nm- PKZ805-Moses Point to Sledge Island out to 15 nm- PKZ806-Sledge Island to Wales out to 15 nm- PKZ853-Kwemeluk Pass to Kwikpak Pass from 15 to 90 nm- In the Bering Sea, the ice edge extends from near Cape Newenham to 61N 166 30W to 64 8N 164 33W to near Wales. The ice edge is open water. From land-based points in Alaska, the ice edge in the Bering Sea extends from near Cape Newenham to 40 nm south of Hooper Bay to 30 nm east of Nome to near Wales. The ice edge is open water. FORECAST FOR THE BERING SEA (DAYS 1 through 5)... Forecast confidence is high. Southerly winds across the eastern Bering Sea and a warmer air mass will pause ice growth through Sunday and some sea ice along the coast of Alaska will melt. Northerly to northwesterly winds and colder air will return Monday through Wednesday, allowing for new ice growth along the entire Bering Sea coast of Alaska. Also expect new sea ice growth across outer Norton Sound Monday through Wednesday. && Schreck/Lawson