Rainy, cloudy weather is expected in Southcentral Alaska this week as several storm systems move through the area, a meteorologist said.
Rainfall hit the area Sunday, dropping more than an inch of precipitation in some parts of Anchorage, said Tim Markle of the National Weather Service.
Throughout the Anchorage Bowl, between a half-inch to an inch of rain was expected throughout the day, although Markle said 1.3 inches was reported in the Bayshore-Klatt area of South Anchorage. Rain was lightest on the north end of town, he said. About a third of an inch to a half-inch of rain was expected in Palmer and Wasilla, he said.
Sunday’s rain moved in from a low-pressure system in Southwest Alaska, and southerly winds brought tropical moisture into the area from the western Pacific Ocean, Markle said.
Good Sunday Morning Southern Alaska! Here is a radar loop of the current storm system moving through the area. Widespread steady rain is falling from the West Coast eastward through the Anchorage area to Prince William Sound, keeping things very wet for much of today! #AKwx pic.twitter.com/pbgqAQ5zZW
— NWS Anchorage (@NWSAnchorage) August 8, 2021
Although August generally marks the beginning of Alaska’s rainy season, Markle said the amount of consistent rain that fell throughout Sunday was unusual to see so early in the month.
“August and September is definitely our rainiest months; this is when we start to see the transition into these more significant, more frequent rain events,” he said. “But even for this, because it is tapping into tropical moisture that is from the western Pacific and is the remnants of a couple of typhoons, as well -- it is certainly a lot of rain, especially for the Anchorage area.”
Another storm system is expected to move into the Gulf of Alaska on Monday, which will bring rain again on Monday afternoon to the Anchorage area, Markle said. The storm is expected to cause heavy rainfall near the coast, but Markle said the rain will likely be less for interior areas of Southcentral.
Another storm system is predicted to move into the area on Wednesday, which Markle said may cause rain showers for the Anchorage area and heavier rainfall along the coast.
“Overall, relatively cloudy and definitely periods of rain or rain showers through the rest of the week with some intermittent breaks and maybe perhaps some breaks of sun,” Markle said. “But certainly a kind of cloudy or cooler and wetter pattern than we’ve seen in recent days.”