Winter Storm — City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska

2026-01-08 to 2026-01-09 · City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska

Event narrative

Intermittent light snow fell on the 8th, becoming steady late with winds turning out of the north. Visibility fell to a half mile in the 6am hour on the 9th at the airport. A trained spotter measured 5.8 inches of snow by 7am out the road near Cohen Drive and another spotter measured 7.5 inches just before 8am. The Juneau Airport began mixing with rain around 8am while temperatures were still 30F, then fully transitioned to rain over the next 2 hours. The DOT RWIS station near Cohen Drive continued to see snow or a mix into the afternoon, then temperatures warmed above 32F at 5pm. Freezing levels rose steadily through the event, rising to around 4kft by 6pm based on the South Douglas JAWS profiler.

During the evening of the 8th, the City and Borough of Juneau announced public facilities and schools would be closed the following day due to ongoing hazardous road and weather conditions. Several small avalanches were reported during the the 9th off of Mt. Juneau, Mt. Roberts and the Thane area. No damage was reported from the avalanches and evacuation advisories and road closures were already in place. As rain fell on deep snowpack, localized flooding reports came in through the evening of the 9th particularly in Douglas, downtown Juneau, along Egan Drive, and in the Mendenhall Valley. The additional weight of snow and rain caused a vessel to sink in Douglas Harbor. This was the 11th vessel to sink in Juneau since the December record snow began. Other small out buildings and sheds succumbed to the added weight of rain on snow as well. A disaster declaration was in effect during this time.

Wider weather episode

An atmospheric river brought snow followed by high winds, warming temperatures and heavy rain to the panhandle January 8th and 9th. A low pressure center developed along a triple point front as it tracked NE across the western Gulf of Alaska on the 9th. The low center deepened to 960mb as it approached the northern Gulf and the frontal system brought a period of high winds to the central and southern panhandle. This system brought with it heavy snow across the north, followed by a significant warm-up, heavy rain, localized flooding due to previous heavy snow blocking drainages, and avalanches. The flooding falls into the advisory level, but the rain was an additional impact due to the added weight of the snow on structures. Disaster declarations were expanded to more communities across the northern panhandle after this storm.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1317558. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.