Winter Storm — Municipality of Skagway, Alaska

2025-01-05 to 2025-01-06 · Municipality of Skagway, Alaska

Event narrative

The Klondike Highway was closed due to an avalanche, with a report received in the afternoon that the road had been re-opened on January 5th. Strong northerly winds with gusts of 45 to 55 mph and falling snow were occurring prior to the avalanche. DOT reported shortly after 9 AM the next morning January 6th that a minimum of 5 of new snow had fallen along parts of the Klondike Highway, with corresponding difficult road conditions.

Wider weather episode

A frontal band advancing north overran cold air previously put in place by an outflow event. Although areas further south saw a fairly quick changeover from snow to rain, Haines, Skagway, and their respective highways maintained snow for a far longer duration.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1231447. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.