Weather service says to expect a dry, cold winter. Here are ways to be prepared.
- Jasz Garrett
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Southeast Alaska will be influenced by Arctic air for a large portion of this winter
By Jasz Garrett
Juneau Independent
This article has been corrected to note the cause of a fire at an apartment building was from a candle, not electrical.
Tired of the cold? Depending on “your threshold for pain” for chilly conditions, it’s here to stay, said Jeff Garmon, head meteorologist at National Weather Service Juneau.
Wednesday night was the capital city’s first dip below zero this year (-5.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and the weather service says it’s only the beginning of the winter to come.
An arctic air mass from the Yukon is expected to persist through early next week, potentially bringing snow to areas south of Juneau. But that’s not the end of it – the Climate Prediction Center’s forecasts unusually cold temperatures and below-average snowfall for the next three months, with a neutral climate pattern.
“We’re looking all the way out through the rest of January into February, we’re looking less precip and colder temperatures pretty much through most of this next winter, for the next three-month outlook in Southeast Alaska,” Garmon said. “So we'll probably get a little less snowfall than we typically would, and we're probably going to be colder than we normally would be, which means drier, colder air from the Interior.”
It’s a stark contrast to last December’s temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which were warmer than average, but Juneau also saw below normal snowfall that winter.
Tuesday’s high was 11 degrees. Juneau has a variability of temperatures, and Garmon said it’s usually colder on Douglas Island or in the Mendenhall Valley, with it likely reaching zero this week. Garmon said overnight lows could continue dropping into the negatives. As of Wednesday, Juneau had yet to break a daily temperature record.
“This time of year, normal minimums are somewhere in the mid-20s, normal highs, low- to mid-30s,” Garmon said. “We’re running 20 to 25 degrees below on our temperatures from what would typically be normal looking back at the climatological record for this time of year.”
He said the Climate Prediction Center’s forecast doesn’t mean Juneau won’t still experience some snowstorms and a few warm periods – it provides a seasonal average for precipitation and temperatures. Looking ahead, the weather service says another very cold night is expected on Thursday, with slightly warmer temperatures and a chance of snow starting Saturday night. The snow could continue through Sunday into early next week.
“Low is going to be somewhere in the upper single digits, probably around seven or eight degrees. It’ll be a dry, fluffy snow,” Garmon said. “We won’t get near as much, though, as areas down like around Petersburg.”
South of Juneau is expected to see heavier snowfall, according to a winter storm watch issued to begin Saturday morning.
Staying warm and safe
The City and Borough of Juneau Docks and Harbors is asking all vessel owners to check on their boats, verifying that lines, power cords, heaters and bilge systems are secure and functioning properly.
The city also recommends leaving a pencil-thin trickle of water running in the sink, ensuring crawl space vents are closed, pipes are properly insulated, and heat tapes are plugged in and functioning. Additionally, turning off hose bibs, disconnecting any hoses and ensuring proper insulation can help prevent water pipes from freezing or bursting. If someone experiences frozen pipes, they can contact Emergency Water Turn-Off Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or after hours at (907) 586-2165 to have the water turned off.
The Juneau Police Department reported numerous vehicles were involved in collisions and slid off roads once heavy accumulation began throughout town at midday Saturday, and recommended driving more slowly.
Garmon said these are some annual reminders for Alaskans to follow, no matter the temperature, but they are especially critical in extremely cold weather.
“Pay attention to what CBJ is putting out about water. Be careful with space heaters,” he said. “And I’m not saying we’re going to have power outages, but they can happen when we get these kind of cold temperatures. We may go through a few periods where you may not have electricity for heat, so just make sure you’ve got alternate sources of heat and have a plan. But that’s just advice we would give people in Southeast Alaska anyway, anytime of the year.”
For those who would not otherwise have a way to stay warm, the cold weather emergency shelter in Thane is continuing to be open through Friday with emergency day services. Support staff and St. Vincent de Paul volunteers made it possible and are also seeking donations of house slippers, crossword, sudoku and puzzle books.
On Tuesday, a near-areawide power outage occurred. Alaska Electric Light and Power began responding at about 5:20 p.m. Cold temperatures caused issues as the crew attempted to restore power, with all feeders declared restored at 9:08 p.m. The multiple outages that evening were a combination of trees in the line and the difficulties of an isolated system operating in single-digit temperatures.
“The longer the system is offline, the colder equipment gets and the more energy the system requires to come back online,” AELP wrote in a social media post. “So it was a bit of a perfect storm causing tonight’s issues.”
Multiple power outages also happened out the road during a snowstorm this past weekend. To report an outage, call 907-586-AELP or text OUTAGE to 55050.
On the same evening as the area-wide power outage, Capital City Fire/Rescue responded to three fires in the span of three hours, all in the Mendenhall Valley. The fire department’s first patient of the year also fell through the ice on Mendenhall Lake on Tuesday.
Fire Chief Rich Etheridge recounted the fire responses on Wednesday.
“We started out with a fire on top of a stove, looked like something was left on the stove and something melted. No one was injured and the damage was isolated to the stuff on the stove,” Etheridge said. “The second was a stack fire. Creosote builds up in the chimneys and once they light a fire in the stove, a lot of the time it will catch that creosote and the chimney on fire. There was no damage to the building, it was isolated to inside the chimney, and they put it out and got things under control there.”
He said it’s essential to maintain chimney cleaning, especially if someone is burning greenwood, because this causes creosote to build up much faster.
“Once a year, people should be maintaining their chimneys and basically, either hire somebody or they can come to the fire stations and borrow a chimney sweep brush and just scrub out the chimney – keeps the creosote from building up,” Etheridge said. “As long as the fire stays in the chimney, it’s not as dangerous, but if you have some failures in your stack, it can get into your attic and cause fires in your roof.”
An apartment was the scene of the third fire, with the person inside suffering minor burn injuries, according to the chief. The victim was treated on scene. An investigation revealed that an unattended candle caused the fire, Etheridge said on Friday.
“The gentleman that was occupying the apartment that caught fire, he tried putting the fire out with an extinguisher and sustained some burns to his forearm,” he said. “He was reluctant to leave his apartment because he wanted to get the fire out, but the crew that arrived on scene got him out of the building and then went back in and put the fire out, and he was treated for some minor burns on his arms.”
Etheridge stressed the need for extra caution in fire safety during cold weather and power outages, a reminder CCFR issued last month after a home suffered over $100,000 in damage.
“As far as general fire safety stuff, especially in the cold, not using alternative heat sources like propane heaters inside your home, because it consumes the oxygen, creates carbon monoxide, and you can get carbon monoxide poisoning — and then having three feet of clearance to any kind of heat source is also a good way to help prevent fires,” he said. “Space heaters or a fireplace, things like that, keep stuff at least three feet away.”
Etheridge recommended staying warm during a power outage by layering clothes, bundling up in blankets, closing curtains, and hanging blankets over windows and doors. CCFR also recommended installing and checking smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
“As the temperature gets colder, paying that little bit of extra attention to the details makes all the difference,” he said. “Think about what could potentially be a hazard in your home and double-check things.”
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
