Friday, 21 June 2024 - Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook

Date: 21 June 2024

Assessment of Current Ice Conditions Relevant to Distribution and Access of Walrus

Click the name of each community below to view more frequently updated and detailed information from the National Weather Service.

Synopsis: Low pressure will persist over the western Bering Sea through Friday until high pressure builds in from the south on Saturday. High pressure will persist until Tuesday when a strong low pressure system is forecast to move into the southern Bering Sea. This feature will slowly move north and weaken through Saturday.

Near St. Lawrence Island

The only ice remaining around the island is between Camp Iveetok and Camp Kulowiye. There is close pack ice between those features extending up to 2 miles (3.2 km) offshore near those endpoints. However, a large narrow corridor of pack ice extends up to 75 miles (120 km) to the northeast. The remaining ice looks to be brash ice to small floes and is melting quickly. It will likely be gone in another week to 10 days.

Nome

Norton Sound is ice free for the season.

Nome port entrance webcam (via AOOS webpage): https://bering-sea.portal.aoos.org/?ls=79875242-e362-65cb-914e-fed20ff9…

Brevig Mission/Port Clarence Area

Port Clarence/Brevig Mission is sea ice free for the season.

Wales to Shishmaref

Open water extends from Wales to Ikpek, but there are medium to big floes within 13 miles (20.9 km) of the shoreline. Between Ikpek and Shishmaref is an area of open to close pack ice with anywhere from brash ice to vast floes and everything in between. To the northeast of Shishmaref is very close pack ice.

Diomede

Open water surrounds Diomede. The closest sea ice is 10 miles (16 km) to the north of Diomede, and is rapidly melting brash ice. This ice will not last more than a day or two, if that long.

Forecast Discussion

Ice Forecast

Ice to the northeast of St. Lawrence Island will continue to degrade, though there will likely be some left in a week, which will still be in the vicinity of the northeastern portion of the island. The ice-free boundary will likely push north of Diomede and through the Bering Strait in the next week. There will still be ice along the Wales to Shishmaref coastline, more from Shishmaref northeastward. Expect the far southern Chukchi to be mostly open water except for outer Kotzebue Sound.

Wind Synopsis

Near St Lawrence Island, light and variable winds will become northwest at 10 to 15 knots (12 to 17 mph) on Saturday (June 22) and persist through Sunday night (June 23). On Monday morning (June 24), winds will become northeast at 10 to 15 knots (12 to 17 mph), then turn southeast at 10 to 15 knots (12 to 17 mph) late Monday night. Southeast winds 10 to 15 knots (12 to 17 mph) will persist through Friday (June 28) except for a period where winds may be as strong as 20 knots (23 mph) Tuesday afternoon and evening (June 25).

Near Wales and Diomede, north winds 15 to 20 knots (17 to 23 mph) will become northwest and diminish to 5 to 8 knots (6 to 9 mph) on Saturday afternoon (June 22). Winds turn back to be northeast at 10 to 15 knots (12 to 17 mph) on Sunday afternoon (June 23) before becoming south at 8 to 11 knots (9 to 13 mph) on Tuesday evening (June 25). This will persist through Friday (June 28).

Near Shishmaref, northwest winds 7 to 12 knots (8 to 14 mph) persist through Monday night (June 24). Early Tuesday morning (June 25), winds become east at 7 to 11 knots (8 to 13 mph) and persist through Friday (June 28).

Temperature Trend

Near St. Lawrence Island, highs will be in the mid 40s with lows in the upper 30s.

Near Wales and Diomede, highs will be in the mid 40s. Lows will be in the mid 30s through Monday morning (June 24) before warming to the upper 30s Tuesday morning (June 25) and into the lower 40s by Friday morning (June 28).

Near Shishmaref, highs will be in the low 40s. Lows will be in upper 20s warming to the low 30s Tuesday morning (June 25). Lows will warm each day thereafter, reaching the low 40s by Friday morning (June 28).

Daily Weather, Wind, and Temperature Updates

The National Weather Service provides twice-daily, text only updates on the weather, wind, and temperature conditions in specific geographical zones. An interactive weather map for access to other Alaskan zones can be found here: http://weather.gov/anchorage/ice

Higher resolution satellite images and wind maps (wind updated daily) can be viewed here: http://www.weather.gov/afg/SIWO_overview

The Alaska Ocean Observing System shares a variety of weather and sea ice related resources in their Bering Sea Portal at https://bering-sea.portal.aoos.org/.

Marine forecast for the West Coast and Arctic Coast

Remote Sensing Images

Observations and Comments

Observations of Sea Ice Development

Additional Comments Provided by Local Experts and Other Contributors