High Wind — Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island, Alaska

2020-01-15 to 2020-01-18 · Juneau Borough and Northern Admiralty Island, Alaska

Event narrative

Several mountain waves over 3 days pushed winds very high across Downtown, Douglas, West Juneau, and Thane. The worst of the winds occurred late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. Top recorded wind gust was 90 mph at the AJ Docks Marine Exchange, numerous other observations between 60 an 80 mph. Many trees reported as being down, items blown around, window broken at the State Courthouse, and trailers overturned near the Coast Guard station. High winds and wind shear cancelled all flights in Juneau on the 16th.

Wider weather episode

A Taku Mountain Wave developed with good cross mountain flow and cold air moving over mountains from the Canadian interior. The worst of the winds occurred late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. Other areas including Haines, Skagway, and Tenakee Springs also saw high winds.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 871645. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.