Winter weather advisory for Juneau until 3 a.m. Friday, 4-6" of snow forecast
- Mark Sabbatini
- 8 hours ago
- 2 min read
Clear, but windy weekend with storm-force conditions and 10-foot seas in Lynn Canal expected, according to National Weather Service Juneau
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Juneau residents may have a tough commute home Thursday and mariners may have a rough weekend in Lynn Canal, according to the National Weather Service Juneau.
A winter storm advisory is in effect for Juneau until 3 a.m. Friday, with four to six inches of snow expected starting Thursday morning, said Jeff Garmon, meteorologist in charge for the Juneau weather station. Higher amounts are forecast for some other areas of Southeast Alaska.
"I'm thinking late morning into the afternoon we'll start to see the snow picking up, and then we'll get into heavier rates as we get into tonight," he said Thursday morning.
The official advisory at the weather service’s website as of 6 a.m. states up to eight inches of snow is possible for Juneau, but Garmon said he expects total accumulation to be somewhat lighter.
Similar advisories are in effect for other communities in the inner Panhandle such as Angoon and Hoonah, while winter storm warnings are in effect for outer Panhandle communities such as Yakutat and Sitka.
The high temperature in Juneau is expected to be about 30 degrees Thursday and the overnight low about 15 degrees. The weekend forecast calls for mostly clear skies, but Garmon said strong marine winds are expected beginning Friday morning that will reach gale speeds at times.
"That's not good news for people out for things like the crab opener," he said. The six-week golden king crab and tanner crab season in Southeast opened Tuesday.
Some exposed areas in Juneau such as the downtown docks will see strong winds, but the main concern is areas such as Lynn Canal, Garmon said.
"We do have winds coming up to storm force by Saturday," he said. "Especially tomorrow we're going to pick up the gales out of the north at 35 knots, then it's going to increase to storm force out of the north at 50 knots, with 10-foot seas out there and a significant freezing spray threat."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
