The Aleutian low remained in the Bering Straight, although weaker than during the previous flights. In the Beaufort Sea, the area of the CV-580 flight, winds were weak. Trajectories show most of the air coming from the coasts of Alaska and Canada for most levels. The exception was at 9 km where winds were stronger and the trajectorys show air coming from the southern Alaskan coast and the Pacific Ocean.
SHEBA ship trajectories show a different picture. Winds were stronger at SHEBA ship which was located between the Aleutian Low in the Bering Straights and a high pressure system near the pole. Low level air trajectories came from the eastern Beaufort Sea and earlier from the Arctic Ocean north of Greenland. The surace to 1.5 km trajectories followed this path. The upper levels followed different paths coming from the Pacific Ocean across Alaska.
The satellite IR image indicates that the Beaufort flight area was probably just east of a cold front. The open water faintly appears on the IR image. There is some indication of light or broken clouds in the area of the CV-580 flight.
