Legend
Fuel Dryness
| Moist - Little or no risk for large fires. | |
| Dry - Low risk of large fires in the absence of a "High Risk" event. | |
| Very dry - Low/Moderate risk of large fires in the absence of a "High Risk" event. | |
| Data Unavailable. |
High Risk Events
|
Dry-Relative Humidity less than 15% across Southeast Alaska and less than 10% elsewhere. |
|
Windy-Widespread sustained North through east winds greater than 25 mph over Southeast Alaska and widespread sustained winds greater than 30 mph elsewhere across the state. |
|
Lightning- Scattered dry strikes or widespread mostly dry strikes. |
|
Recreation-High recreation or other human activity. |
Missing Stations
- None
Alaska Area 7 Day
Significant Fire Potential
Issued: Friday, May 17, 2013 Parameters:
| Predictive Service Area |
Thu
May 16 |
Fri
May 17 |
Sat
May 18 |
Sun
May 19 |
Mon
May 20 |
Tue
May 21 |
Wed
May 22 |
Thu
May 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AK00 - North Slope | ||||||||
| AK01E - Tanana Valley-East | ||||||||
| AK01W - Tanana Valley-West | ||||||||
| AK02 - Upper Yukon Valley | ||||||||
| AK03N - Tanana Zone-North | ||||||||
| AK03S - Tanana Zone-South | ||||||||
| AK04 - Koyukuk/Upper Kobuk | ||||||||
| AK05 - Middle Yukon | ||||||||
| AK06 - Seward Peninsula | ||||||||
| AK07 - Lower Yukon | ||||||||
| AK08 - Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta | ||||||||
| AK09 - Kuskokwim Valley | ||||||||
| AK10 - Bristol Bay and AK Pen | ||||||||
| AK11 - Susitna Valley | ||||||||
| AK12 - Copper River Basin | ||||||||
| AK13 - Matanuska Vly/Anchorage | ||||||||
| AK14 - Kenai Peninsula | ||||||||
| AK15 - Northern Panhandle | ||||||||
| AK16 - Central Panhandle | ||||||||
| AK17 - Southern Panhandle | ||||||||
| AK18 - Kodiak |
Weather
Mixed precipitation is falling around much of Alaska this morning as a huge mass of cold air pushes southeastward across the state. This cold front will return winterlike conditions for Friday and Saturday, with any liquid precipitation turning over to snow Friday night. Snowfall amounts are expected to approach a foot in the Brooks Range and Alaska Range. Populated areas from Fairbanks to Anchorage will see a few inches in the lower areas which may or may not stick, while higher elevations may see up to 6" of snow. The Kenai Peninsula may see a little less accumulation, though again heaviest in the mountains. By Saturday evening, most of the precipitation will have pushed into the ALCAN border. The Panhandle will see up to an inch of rain as the system in the North Pacific pushes eastward. Any measureable snowfall in the Anchorage area could break old records for the 2012-2013 snow season.
The beginning of next week brings an upper level ridge that builds into southwest and then central Alaska. This will bring much more seasonable weather to all but the northernmost part of the state.
Fuels/Fire Potential Despite cool and wet weather recently, a couple of sunny days supported a successful prescribed burn on the range near Delta Junction on Thursday. Look for the same dormant grasses to be the first areas to come back in the next 7 days as warmer and drier conditions return. Kodiak Island is looking to stay drier over the weekend and with the winds accompanying the front, may support fire spread in open areas throughout the period.
Resources
There are no resource needs at this time.
Forecasters: Strader 5/17/2013 1430 MDT
