Cold air blob makes ‘full tour’ of Alaska, prolonging winter weather

Climate Specialist Rick Thoman said it hasn’t been a emblematic El Niño winter. Instead, there’s been what he calls a batch of “yo-yo weather.” (Courtesy photo)

A beardown parade of storms has been making its measurement done nan bluish Pacific Ocean, and nan location of nan pitchy watercourse has produced colder storms for Unalaska and nan Aleutian region this spring. That’s according to Rick Thoman, a ambiance master astatine nan International Arctic Research Center pinch nan University of Alaska Fairbanks.

“Over nan past six weeks, say, nan Aleutians person been connected nan northbound broadside of nan prevailing large wind track, and truthful connected nan acold broadside of nan storms,” Thoman said. “If nan pitchy watercourse was opportunity 500 miles farther north, it would still beryllium stormy, but it wouldn’t beryllium astir arsenic cold.”

Cold aerial from supra nan North Slope brought different information of wintery upwind to Western Alaska, nan Eastern Aleutians, Kodiak Island and into Southcentral Alaska arsenic well, according to Thoman.

“That was fundamentally a blob of acold aerial that came down from nan precocious Arctic from northbound of nan North Slope, and it moved southwest done nan Bering Strait down done nan eastbound Bering Sea, and is now really moving into nan occidental Gulf of Alaska,” he said.

While it has been a harsh outpouring for nan region, these blobs are beautiful normal for this clip of year, Thoman said.

“As nan precocious latitude ambiance transitions from wintertime to summer, we get these small knots of acold aerial that will float around,” he explained. “Oftentimes, they will get stuck (in the) bluish Bering Sea aliases northward and not move immoderate farther south. But this 1 is doing nan afloat tour.”

It moreover made a stop in Anchorage last week.

Late successful nan evening connected May 8, nan Anchorage airdrome sewage astir an inch of snow. Thoman said it’s nan 3rd highest snowfall connected grounds for this precocious successful nan season.

“There’s only been 2 different occurrences since nan mid 1950s erstwhile there’s been much snowfall than that, May 8 aliases later,” he said.

Thoman said it hasn’t been a emblematic El Niño winter. Instead, there’s been what he calls a batch of “yo-yo weather.”

“A week aliases 2 of acold weather, a week aliases 2 of mild stormy upwind — and that is not characteristic of El Niño winters astatine each for Alaska,” he said. “El Niño winters thin to get stuck successful nan aforesaid shape usually — particularly for mainland Alaska — connected nan lukewarm side.”

Thoman said these are transient storms and aren’t predictive of early upwind aliases wide play conditions.

There is simply a operation of forecasts for summertime successful Western Alaska. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center predicts an accrued chance of higher than normal precipitation and debased temperatures for Southwest Alaska. That includes nan Alaska Peninsula, but not astir of nan Aleutians.

There are adjacent chances for supra aliases beneath normal conditions for Unalaska westward, Thoman said.

The land saw immoderate beautiful calm conditions, moreover immoderate sunshine, past weekend, but Thoman said a mild large wind is moving its measurement done nan occidental Bering Sea this week.