Rain and chilly winds took hold of Southcentral Alaska on Sunday, kicking off what’s expected to be a week of gloomy weather, meteorologists say.
Showers began Sunday morning and were expected to continue throughout the night and into Monday, said National Weather Service Meteorologist Bob Clay. Anchorage is forecast to get a moderate amount of rain throughout Monday, with accumulations of roughly 2- to 3/10ths of an inch, Clay said.
A weakening funnel system over the Alaska Peninsula is shifting east and heading into the Gulf of Alaska and just south of the Kenai Peninsula, Clay said. The system will bring a more steady rainfall to Anchorage early in the week, then transition to showers.
High temperatures in Anchorage this week are expected to linger in the low- to mid-60s.
Clay said the weather this week will turn more fall-like. August is generally the wettest month of the year in Anchorage, though Clay said this year has been relatively warm and dry.
As of Sunday, climate records showed that this August is roughly 2.5 degrees warmer than normal. The highest temperature was 79 degrees on Aug. 15. Temperatures last week ranged in the low to mid-70s.
There’s been an inch and a quarter of rainfall recorded so far this month, which is nearly an inch less than normal for August.
Clay said the Valley will see weather conditions similar to Anchorage, although there may be slightly more rain in Eagle River early in the week, with possibilities for thunderstorms. Also, more rain is expected in Whittier and closer to the eastern Kenai Peninsula early in the week, Clay said.
Going forward, Clay said he couldn’t rule out more warm weather, but “as we move closer into September and into the fall, these really warm days are not likely,” he said.
Still, “there’s still potential that we could see another week or so of some sunny, nice weather in the fall,” he said.
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