Ketchikan Gateway Borough storm history

Shortly after 1500AKST on August 25th the larger of two landslides crossed the 3rd Avenue Bypass, a state road which is one of two routes for local traffic to get across town. There were 2 city employees that were working to clear culverts in their vehicle as the landslide occurr…

The Marine Exchange station at Salmon Landing in Ketchikan briefly measured high winds during the afternoon of the 9th, including a peak gust of 64mph at 144pm AKST. Another station at Saxman measured a peak gust of 62mph at 159pm and the Ketchikan tide gauge topped out at 55mph …

COOP observer at the northern end of Ketchikan, near Port Higgins, estimated winds of 40-65mph between 2-6am on the 22nd and checked the damaging wind box. Peak wind gusts elsewhere in the borough were measured at 44-53mph.

Through the late morning hours of September 15th reports from the local emergency manager reported significant runoff from the steep hillside that surrounds the Ketchikan area from the very heavy rain. This overland flow continued and increased into the afternoon, which flooded n…

The Alaska Marine Highway Ferry Columbia could not dock as scheduled on the morning of the 26th due to winds and seas. The Inter Island Ferry was cancelled for the day in anticipation of the storm. There were several flight cancellations in and out of Ketchikan due to the wind. A…

Mesonet station at Salmon Landing in Ketchikan reported a maximum wind gust of 63 mph at 1232pm on the 15th. In addition, the State Ferry Columbia was unable to dock in Ketchikan for a period of time, and the scheduled flight from Sitka to Ketchikan was unable to land, both due t…

Light snow fell overnight, but quickly became moderate to heavy with several inches stacking up between 6 to 9am. Greatest amounts were reported with social media during the 8am hour, including 6 to 8 inches on the south side of Ketchikan. The band of snow showers shifted north o…

The Marine Exchange station at Saxman measured a peak gust of 62 mph at 853am AKST on Wednesday the 6th. Other observation sites in the are reported peak gusts of 45-55 mph between 7am and 11am that morning. The Ketchikan Indian Community and Tribal Health Clinic reported the hig…

Marine Exchange stations in downtown Ketchikan measured multiple gusts in excess of 60 mph on Saturday October 12th. The peak wind gust of 63 mph was measured at Salmon Landing at 133pm AKDT. Local officials in Ketchikan reported at 233pm AKDT that a section of road was closed du…

Salmon Landing station SLXA2 reported a peak wind gust of 63 mph at 1153 AKDT after previously reporting a wind gust of 60 mph at 1113 AKDT. Report on social media of dumpsters rolling into streets from the force of the wind gusts.

The second landslide, on the opposite slope of the first, went down Copper Ridge and affected a private construction yard. Construction materials stored at the yard were destroyed in the slide, which was significant loss, along with the damage/destruction of the upper part of the…

Trained spotters reported blowing and drifting snow through the day on the 27th with about 4 inches of snow by late afternoon. By the following morning another 6 inches of snow had fallen for storm totals ranging from 8.2 inches at the north end of Ketchikan to 12 inches in town.…

Widespread high winds were measured across Marine Exchange mesonet stations throughout the Ketchikan area and at the Ketchikan ASOS. The peak gust measured at Ward Cove reached 83 mph at 343am on the 29th. A COOP at the northern end of Ketchikan reported that at least 80mph winds…

Ketchikan COOP on the north side of town reported that light snow fell during the day on the 15th with rates increasing in the afternoon and evening. The COOP measured a total of 8.1 inches of light, dry snow the next day and estimated that it ended around 3am. The nearby Ketchik…

Two advancing waves brought two periods of high winds for the Ketchikan area. Multiple sites across Ketchikan reported wind gusts in excess of 60 mph, with the highest wind gust of 76 mph reported at the Saxman Marine Exchange site at 713 PM AKST. A utility company also reported …

The Marine Exchange of Alaska mesonet station at Salmon Landing measured a gust of 67 mph at 733am on the 20th and continued to periodically reach high wind through 813pm. Peak winds were observed in Ward Cove with a gust of 75 mph at 744pm. Other mesonet stations reached near or…

During an ongoing high wind event, the Marine Exchange of Alaska station at Ward Cove measured a peak gust of 67 mph at 743 pm on November 8th. The Ketchikan airport ASOS measured a peak gust of 68 mph at 258 am on the 9th.

Marine Exchange station at Salmon Landing near Ketchikan Harbor recorded a peak wind gust of 60mph at 0603AKST. Other nearby marine sites measured similar or higher gusts in the 1 to 3 hours around the same time.

Snow began late on February 28th and became heavy through the following morning with periodic gusts of around 35 to 50mph. A trained spotter in Ketchikan measured 9 inches of snow at 830am, but drifting made it difficult to measure. The COOP on the north side of town measured 8 i…

Rooftop wind at the Ketchikan Airport measured a peak gusts of 50-70kt between 1153am and 4pm on the 20th. COOP observer to the north at 3pm noted strong SE wind of 35-50 mph with higher gusts to 60 mph estimated and tree debris all around from high wind.

A roof wind gust of 75 mph was noted in in the remarks section of the PAKT ASOS at 353 PM AKST November 23rd, with roof winds gusting above 60 mph through the duration of the event. Other observations from around the Ketchikan docks and a COOP observer at the northern end ranged …