High Wind — Municipality of Skagway, Alaska

2026-01-14 · Municipality of Skagway, Alaska

Event narrative

Calm or light north winds across the Skagway area late on the 13th, spiked up out of the south with high winds just after midnight and continuing until the 5am hour on the 14th. The peak wind gust measured at the Skagway Airport ASOS was 58kt (67mph) at 407am. The Skagway Harbor Marine Exchange station also measured a peak gust that hour, reaching 56.8kt (65mph) at 413am. Sustained winds of 40-48mph were measured at the airport between 315 and 530am.

DOT closed the Klondike Highway during the evening of the 13th due to high elevated risk of avalanches on both the Canadian and US sides of the border.

Wider weather episode

After an active period of multiple systems moving through the area bringing periods of high winds to the southern panhandle, a stronger system arrived bringing high winds to majority of the Panhandle on the 13th into the 14th. This low center tracked northward through the eastern gulf, while deepening, along with a storm force front. The low center moved onshore along the NE Gulf Coast in vicinity of Yakutat overnight Tuesday the 13th. As the low jumped inland, winds spiked up through the inner channels, lasting longest for the Skagway area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1317466. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.