From 31 May until 11 June, SHEBA ship was between a surface low to the northwest and the Beaufort high which was far east in Canada (see June 5 for example). SHEBA ship was under southwest winds which brought some fog and drizzle on 5 and 7 June, while some light snow occurred on 9 and 11 June. Elongated cloud fields that appeared to be fronts crossed SHEBA ship on 4 (late afternoon) and 7 June. Light drizzle and wind shifts were experienced by these fronts. Surface temperatures showed little change since they remained near freezing from 28 May through the end of the flights in July.
From 12-20 June a strong surface high dominated the Beaufort Sea (June 14 example). A weak surface low was present west of SHEBA ship for part of the time. This produced a southerly flow at all levels. SHEBA ship was on the western edge of the high so it experience a variety of altostratus and cirrus clouds. Fog occasionally occurred and snow was reported on 20 June as a large low pressure area worked north up the Chukchi Sea.
From 21-24 June, the high which originally was to the east in the Beaufort Sea, moved north and then west around SHEBA ship (see June 22). Few clouds were seen over SHEBA ship. Surface winds were generally easterly and very strong on 23 June (26 kts reported). Upper level winds were generally southeasterly.
26-27 June a low move northwestward from the Beaufort Sea over SHEBA ship. This produced light northeasterly winds and a few snow reports.
Trajectories were from a variety of directions. Most were from the south and southeast when the high was present in the Beaufort Sea. However, from 4 to 11 June when the low came by from the northwest, most trajectories came from the east.
