A parade of lows in the gulf will bring moderate to heavy snow and
moderate to heavy rain to the panhandle beginning Friday night
and lasting into next week.
For Friday night into Saturday evening, the initial low looks to
park itself south of the Aleutian Islands while it swings a warm
front across the gulf and over the panhandle. This will provide
moisture to the far southern panhandle. With the forecasted cold
air in place, the moisture would fall as snow or a rain/snow mix.
For Saturday evening through Sunday night, the low will start to
track east and northeast while fading out. This will push the
warm front north through the rest of the panhandle, dragging the
moisture northward. With the forecasted cold air that would be in
place, the moisture would fall as snow then slowly transition to
a mix or rain.
For Sunday night into Monday, continued southerly/onshore flow
would keep the warm, moist air moving into the panhandle. By this
time, rain would be the primary precip-type for the Icy Strait
corridor and areas to the south. For Lynn Canal, lingering cold
air would keep just enough snow in the forecast for decent
snowfall amounts, especially near the border.
As far as snowfall amounts, most areas are looking at a long
duration snow event that would produce Advisory snowfall (3 to 5
inches in 12 hours) amounts. The exception is the Icy Strait
corridor where high-end Advisory to Warning amounts (6″ in 12
hours or 12″ in 24 hours) are starting to look possible.
Stay tuned in through the the rest of the week for updates.
