Peak winds and waves expected Friday afternoon from hurricane-force storm in Southeast Alaska
- Jasz Garrett
- 22 hours ago
- 6 min read
Gusts exceeding 100 mph, waves up to 70 feet high in victiny of Prince of Wales Island possible, forecasters say at midday
By Jasz Garrett and Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
This is a developing story.
Update 12:45 p.m.: The next few hours are expected to be a high point of concern for a hurricane-force storm moving through the central and southern portions of Southeast Alaska, with a warning about waves up to 70 feet high as well as winds gusting to more than 100 miles per hour issued by National Weather Service Juneau officials during a noon briefing.
People in some communities were reporting winds hadn’t increased significantly during the morning, but that is about to change, said Andrew Park, a meteorologist at the weather station, during the briefing livestreamed on YouTube. The worst winds are expected to be near Craig and in Sumner Strait at the north end of Prince of Wales Island.
"That's going to be the main threat for 90-knot gusts," he said. "So if you're outside that sort of cone there, you might not see those 90-knot gusts, but we're really focused on those small communities (and) any mariners in that area to really focus that messaging."
The highest winds observed in the southern Panhandle on Friday morning were generally about 60 mph (about 52 knots), Park said.
Conditions will vary widely through the region due to its topography, said Zoe Kaplan, another meteorologist participating in the briefing.
"Southeast Alaska is filled with microclimates and lots of mountains, and so those higher elevation areas might feel those winds a little bit harder," she said. "So if you're living in a higher elevation area, just be prepared for potentially even stronger winds than down, maybe, in town."
A warning about waves was also issued by Park, who said they could reach heights of about 40 feet along Prince of Wales Island — and at their extreme, "could be as high as 70 feet for that one out of 1,000 waves."
Exposed areas surrounding Juneau are expected to see gale-force winds gusting to about 45 mph, according to the weather service forecast as of midday. The regionwide storm is expected to diminish Friday evening.
Update 10 a.m.: A hurricane-force low's impacts are expected to be felt by 10 a.m., with impacts continuing in central and southern Panhandle communities through Friday evening.
Andrew Park, a meteorologist with National Weather Service Juneau, said the storm is going to come in hard and fast.
Sustained winds are expected to reach at least 34 to 47 knots in the central and southern inner channels as of 10 a.m. The south of Frederick Sound will see the worst of it, according to the weather service. The highest wind threat on Friday is from about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"You can think of this almost like a hurricane in Florida or Texas," Park said. "As that low makes landfall, you get those really, really strong winds in a really small portion of the area. So northern Prince of Wales, Klawock, Craig, Port Protection, that's going to be under the gun for the strongest winds."
After 4 p.m., storm-force winds of 55 knots will hit Prince of Wales and possibly Sitka, Park said. The winds are expected to decrease Friday evening.
NWSJ noted the storm is not a true hurricane. It is an extratropical storm with hurricane-force winds. Park said he knows it is a running joke that in Alaska, "we don't name our storms, we just call it Friday." But he emphasized that it is a life-threatening storm and preparations need to be done now.
"We'll get a lot of hurricane-force winds in the Gulf, on the offshore waters, but usually the low is weakening as it makes landfall," he said. "And so this is pretty unusual to have this low of this strength fully maturing as it makes landfall in Prince of Wales."
For the graphic above, Meteorologist Zoe Kaplan said not to focus on the numbers, which indicate wind gusts, but rather on the different colors, which show where the impacts will be the strongest. What's important is that the more red it is, the more dangerous it will be.
"There's going to be a lot of wind, and that's going to be blowing around any and all unsecured objects and trees; it could damage property," Kaplan said. "The trees could damage property, and that could cause power outages. Definitely be careful if you're traveling, and especially if you're a mariner during this."
On Thursday evening, the high wind warning was extended to Admiralty Island. The weather service expressed concerns for the hunters there. Juneau could "get gusty," but the most significant impacts are down south.
Park said heavy rain is expected as the storm moves through, but the wind poses the greater threat. There are no long-duration atmospheric rivers expected, but isolated thunderstorms may occur.
Kaplan said after the system moves through, Southeast Alaska can expect more "typical fall weather."
Watch the 8:30 a.m. video update from the weather service here.
Original story 9/25/2025:
"This is not just another windy day in Alaska; this is a life-threatening storm," Meteorologist Andy Park with the National Weather Service Juneau announced on Thursday afternoon.
Jeff Garmon, meteorologist in charge, warned of a system blowing in on Friday morning for the southeastern Gulf of Alaska.
"As far as where we think the highest threat of damaging winds is going to be, it's going to be from the Sitka area southward to the central sections of Prince of Wales Island, and areas like Klawock, areas like Port Protection, Port Alexander, Cape Decision, Sitka — those are areas that we're most concerned about of seeing periods of strong wind gusts up near 80 miles an hour," he said.
The strong winds are primarily expected for Friday morning into the late evening. A high wind warning is issued for Sitka eastward through Frederick Sound and for the rest of the south. Southeast winds 35 to 45 miles per hour with wind gusts ranging from 60 to 70 miles per hour are expected. On Thursday evening, the high wind warning was extended to include Admiralty Island, with winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour and gusts of up to 70 miles per hour expected. The strongest gusts will be for the southern half of the island.
"Out on the water, it's going to be a life-threatening situation," Garmon said. "We're recommending folks that are planning travel in the Inside Passage south of Juneau to basically today, seek safe harbor."
Garmon added that for Baranof Island and Prince of Wales Island, there could be trees falling, which could also create a life-threatening situation.
For Juneau and areas north, there is no high wind warning, and Garmon said in Juneau, the storm is expected to be less severe than what was experienced last week. A recent storm caused power outages, blown-down trees, and a minor landslide on Gastineau Avenue, which forced an evacuation.
Garmon said Juneau could experience strong wind gusts on Friday afternoon, but nothing compared to what threatens the south.
"We're looking at winds of 25 to 35 miles an hour, higher elevations, like up on Mount Roberts and Eaglecrest and those areas, we could be seeing some pretty good gusts around 50 as we get into the afternoon hours tomorrow (Friday)," he said.
The weather service will continue monitoring the storm as a hurricane-force low develops in the Pacific. The strong low-pressure area is expected to deepen on Thursday night over the southcentral sections of the Gulf of Alaska before moving into the eastern Gulf on Friday morning.
"It's going to intensify quite a bit more and get stronger along the east side, north side, and south side of this low-pressure center extending out to about 80 miles from the center," Garmon said. "We're going to be looking at periods of hurricane-force winds. Those are winds of 74 miles an hour or greater."
He said that as the low strengthens late Friday morning, it will approach the coast of Baranof Island.
"We're going to have to see where it moves inland, and we're going to see how strong it is as it crosses Baranof and moves up into the central sections of the Panhandle," he said.
"We're fairly confident enough to say that, at least for gusts, where we have the high wind warnings in effect, which is Baranof Island, from the Petersburg, Wrangell area southward into the southern Panhandle, is where we think we're going to see the highest winds," Garmon said.
The system will be fast-moving and the heaviest focused rains are expected to be brief. Garmon said the weather service isn't looking for impacts from flooding. He said past Friday night, rain is expected, but the wind should subside this weekend.
Check for forecast updates here.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
