The National Weather Service is splitting up forecast areas in the state to provide more detailed information about the weather in the Anchorage region.
The Anchorage weather service currently provides weather information based on broad forecast zones. But areas within those zones can have different weather. Brian Brettschneider, a climate scientist for the weather service’s Anchorage office, said the change will allow weather forecasts and alerts to be more precisely tailored to local conditions.
“We really are straying away from, it's not cold unless it's this value everywhere. It's about the community and about the small geographic area. Because places are built for their climate, and if you have a very unusual event compared to your local climate, then that's going to be impactful,” Brettschneider said.
Brettschneider said the new forecast zones should go into effect in March.
In addition to the new zones, Brettschneider said they’re phasing out wind chill advisories. Instead, they’ll issue cold weather advisories and extreme cold warnings. He said these alerts will ensure more localized warnings when they experience extreme temperatures. The weather service plan on rolling out those changes on Oct. 1.
