Juneau gets 0.35" of rain Saturday; flood advisory set to end and Fred Meyer to open at 10 a.m. Sunday
- Jasz Garrett
- 12 hours ago
- 8 min read
Avalanche risk remains high with an evacuation advisory still in effect, flood advisory extended due to more ponding on roadways; forecast calls for rain and snow all this week
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
This story has been updated with additional information.
Eleven days into the new year, Juneauites are still battling "unprecedented" severe weather conditions as a flood advisory for Juneau was extended until 10 a.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau. It was originally set to expire at 9 p.m. Saturday.
There are mixed signs of life returning to normal as the advisory expires, with Fred Meyer scheduled to reopen at 10 a.m. Sunday after being closed since Tuesday evening. However, Juneau Christian Center across the street has cancelled its Sunday activities since "the parking lot is currently full of ice and water," according to a message on its Facebook page.
Rain is expected to continue Sunday and Monday, then turn to a mix of snow and rain throughout the rest of the week, according to a forecast issued at 8 a.m. Sunday by the weather service.
Lance Chambers, lead meteorologist for the weather service, said in an interview Saturday the advisory was extended due to continued ponding of water on roadways as storm drains remain blocked by snow.
"The conditions that the Juneau area is seeing with a lot of the ponding and clogged culverts and drainages and the snow load zone and avalanche risk is really something that we haven't seen, these combinations of the amount of snow on the ground, in the mountains, and then this massive warm up," said Aaron Jacobs, the senior service hydrologist at the weather service. He spoke during a press briefing on Saturday morning.
According to Jacobs, the last time Juneau experienced this amount of snow was in February of 1965, and even then, no massive warmup occurred. As of Saturday morning, the snow water equivalent was about 8.5 inches within the snowpack.
The snowpack on Mount Juneau is still a concern, as an avalanche evacuation advisory remains in place for hundreds of people living in slide paths. The city last updated the advisory at about 6 p.m. Saturday. The American Red Cross and city stood up an emergency shelter at Centennial Hall on Friday afternoon.
Assistant Chief Sam Russell said Capital City/Fire Rescue wants to be "ready and expect" a life-threatening avalanche. CCFR's first response to an avalanche is working with the State Emergency Operations Center and its partners to form a response plan. Its priority is a life safety mission and equipment is staged on both sides of any slide path, according to Russell. The U.S. Coast Guard is on standby to support its partners, such as transporting CCFR around slide areas and shuttling supplies to Thane residents.
"We are still advising evacuation and making sure that people are out of the avalanche zones," Russell said. "Refer to the CBJ maps to know whether or not you're in or out of the avalanche zones and know your hazards, but we are advising everybody that's in an avalanche zone to be out of the avalanche zone until we advise differently."
The downtown avalanche hazard map is available here.
A total of 47 people were reported to have stayed at the Centennial Hall Emergency Shelter Friday night, according to Ryan O'Shaughnessy, emergency programs manager for the city. During the night, evacuees slept on cots and with blankets provided by the Red Cross, while outside, rain fell overnight, with winds gusting to about 25 to 35 miles per hour. Juneau received 1.58 inches of rain on Friday and 0.35 inches on Saturday, according to official measurements at Juneau International Airport.
The warmup that comes after a record amount of snowfall heightens avalanche risk, according to those monitoring it at the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities and the City and Borough of Juneau.
"Continued thaw above freezing temperatures to elevation combined with additional rainfall is resulting in elevated avalanche hazard...particularly for loose, wet and wet slab avalanches," said Pat Dryer, an avalanche and geohazards specialist for DOT.
Thane Road closed at noon Friday due to elevated avalanche hazard. DOT observed between eight and ten unique avalanche events that came near the roadway as of Saturday morning. Dryer said DOT uses an infrared detection system installed along Thane Road to monitor slides.
The hazard remains high as of Saturday evening. John Bressette recently joined CBJ as the avalanche advisor. He said the city observed avalanches "well into the double digits" on both sides of Mount Juneau Friday. He said overnight Friday, there was not a lot of change with avalanche activity, but it was expected to ramp up again Saturday as rain returned and freezing levels rose.
"We'll be closely monitoring that and watching for signs of avalanches, and reassessing after we see what's released and what is still able to release," Bressette said.
Bressette said CBJ does not have the same infrared detection system as DOT, but is working on aquiring one. He said the city uses visual inspection to monitor avalanche slides.
"We are working closely with the National Weather Service on all things, but especially gaining awareness of when we may be able to conduct helicopter operations," O'Shaughnessy said. "Not for mitigation efforts, but for LiDAR, for getting field crews out. So right now, we do have an access issue based on weather conditions, and those operations will continue as conditions allow."
On Saturday afternoon, drone reconnaissance was used to investigate avalanche activity along the Thane and Mount Juneau avalanche paths, identifying multiple avalanches that had previously gone unreported, according to an online update by DOT.
"With reduced precipitation today (Saturday), avalanche activity was limited, but at least one observed avalanche deposited debris close to Behrends Avenue," the updated avalanche advisory states. "With elevated freezing levels and heavy rain forecasted for tonight, the hazard will increase again and the potential for large to very large avalanches remains. The upper elevation start zones of the Mt. Juneau paths have yet to release, leaving lots of snow hanging in the balance."
Ongoing flood risks from snowmelt
O'Shaughnessy added the city is "fully aware" that the avalanche risk is not the only hazard during this storm. Residents have ongoing questions about engineering, safety, and insurance.
"As this storm continues, we are monitoring again, the vertical build infrastructure, snow loads on roofs, all of the implications that come along with snow removal on streets and drains and hydrants," he said.
If residents experience a flooding issue on a city road, the daytime phone is (907) 586-5256, available until 4 p.m., and if there is an urgent flooding issue, the Juneau Police Department non-emergency line can be reached after 4 p.m. at (907) 586-0600.
The same number was given for reporting hazardous state roadways after hours, but during business hours, a detailed message can be left at (907) 465-4655. State road conditions can also be checked at Alaska 511 before traveling.
Sabrina Grubitz, the public safety manager for the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, said transportation and facilities teams are continuing to "stay the course" in maintaining buildings, facilities and properties.
"We did have a small pipe break earlier in the week due to the decline in temperatures," Grubitz said. "That was very quickly handled and dealt with by our teams. And at this time (Saturday morning), we are not seeing any sort of repercussions inside of our buildings following that particular incident."
Bartlett Regional Hospital Chief Executive Officer Joe Wanner said the hospital had "several areas of our roofs that are closing on limits." A team of about 60 people cleared roofs on Saturday morning, according to Wanner. He said the city provided contractors to help finish the work.
"We have engineering on site from CBJ, so they've been bringing those resources down. So we're actively monitoring all our buildings at this point," Wanner said.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said street crews have been working to clear storm drains, but they also must prioritize road maintenance. Fire hydrant and storm drain locations throughout the borough are mapped.
"I can't emphasize enough the amount of support from individuals, both CBJ teams and just local residents that are out there doing good work, helping us as a whole community respond to this event," Barr said. "We are super, super appreciative. We're also aware that water is starting to move into buildings and structures and basements, and we know that managing water is a lot to deal with. We know that water is very damaging to facilities. It's important to document."
He said residents should take photos and videos of water intrusion both for reporting to personal insurance and so the city can communicate damages to the State Emergency Operations Center. Currently, details about damages can be emailed to emergencyresponse@juneau.gov and to an online tool the city launched Saturday.
"That data about damages is a critical piece of information for us in determining whether and when to make a request for individual assistance," Barr said.
The weather service is also accepting local storm reports showing impacts at (907) 790-6802. The time and location should be included.
Barr said the unprecedented storm is dynamic and changing rapidly.
"The amount of snowpack followed by the amount of water is not something that we have dealt with in this capacity, as far as we know historically," he said. "But we do have the right teams responding, and the community support and the support from our state government and local contractors and agency partners is outstanding."
He also recognized that the city had to relocate the cold-weather emergency warming shelter, as it is located in a warehouse in a slide path on Thane. CBJ operates the warming shelter in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul. It was moved to Sitʼ Eeti Shaanáx̱ Glacier Valley Elementary School on Friday night.
"Yesterday (Friday), a big effort of ours was to figure out a place for that shelter to go, which was significantly complicated by our roof loads," Barr said.
He said the city knew a gymnasium roof was cleared at Glacier Valley and "that ended up being the only JSD, CBJ facility that was tenable for that space." He said the city knows the warming shelter is not a compatible use for the way an elementary school is used.
"We will make sure to always prioritize life and safety," Barr said. "That is the reason why we moved to the shelter off of Thane in the first place."
The shelter was first relocated to Marie Drake but was moved due to concerns about the weight of snow on the building's roof. Barr said Saturday that the snow load has not exceeded Marie Drake's design capacity, but city engineers made assessments and the concern was elevated on Friday.
Juneau School District Superintendent Frank Hauser said the decision to relocate to Glacier Valley was made quickly in response to an emergency.
"We had an empty gym for the night, and how could we have said no?" Hauser said.
The shelter was moved back to the city-owned warehouse in Thane on Saturday night, scheduled to open at 9 p.m. According to a storm update by KTOO, Barr said drone assessments made Saturday by DOT showed avalanche risk decreased in that specific area.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
