A tightening pressure gradient between high pressure over northwest Canada and low pressure over the Queen Charlotte Islands lead to strong northeast flow in the vicinity of Juneau. The strong flow resulted in a minor 'Taku' mountain wave event to establish over downtown Juneau and Douglas.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS AJK wrote it up.
A tightening pressure gradient between high pressure over northwest Canada and low pressure over the Queen Charlotte Islands lead to strong northeast flow in the vicinity of Juneau. The strong flow resulted in a minor 'Taku' mountain wave event to establish over downtown Juneau and Douglas. Wind gusts to 59 kt (68 mph) were recorded twice at the South Douglas Island wind profiler site and Mayflower Island also recorded a gust to 52 kt (60 mph).
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Juneau, AK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 13, 11:45 AM AST, 3 hours 35 minutes earlier.
SOUTHEAST ALASKA FORECAST DISCUSSION 1145 AM AST MON MAR 13 2006 .SYNOPSIS... .SHORT RANGE...MODELS APPEAR TO BE IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT THIS FORECAST CYCLE WITH DEVELOPING UPPER LOW OVER SOUTHEASTERN YUKON. ALL MODELS ARE CONSISTENT IN MOVING THE LOW SOUTH ACROSS NORTHWEST BRITISH COLUMBIA AND DEEPENING IT OVER THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE LATER TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY MORNING. STRONG SURFACE HIGH OVER THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES COMBINED WITH A DEVELOPING SURFACE LOW OVER THE EXTREME SOUTHERN PANHANDLE IS CREATING A TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PANHANDLE REGION. THIS INCREASING GRADIENT WILL LIKELY CONTINUE ACROSS THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL PANHANDLE THROUGH AT LEAST THE NEXT 36 HOURS. THE SURFACE LOW OVER THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE WILL MAINTAIN PRECIPITATION CHANCES ACROSS THE FAR SOUTHERN ZONES THROUGH TOMORROW NIGHT. SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES ESPECIALLY INLAND...WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE NIGHT TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. MODEL QPF TOTALS SUGGEST AS MUCH AS 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS INLAND AREAS OF ZONE 29 THROUGH THE NEXT 36 TO 48 HOURS. AS THE UPPER LOW DRIFTS SOUTHWARD ACROSS THE PANHANDLE...WE COULD SEE AN INCREASE IN CLOUD COVER ON TUESDAY AS WELL AS A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW. .LONG RANGE...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL SLOWLY WEAKEN IN THE VICINITY OF THE CENTRAL PANHANDLE THROUGH WED...THEN MOVE INTO NORTHWEST CANADA THU THROUGH FRI AS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVES EAST ACROSS THE GULF. A STRONG SURFACE HIGH CENTERED OVER FAR NORTHWEST CANADA WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE PANHANDLE AND KEEP AN ARCTIC AIRMASS IN THROUGH FRI. A WEAK SURFACE LOW MAY MOVE SOUTHEAST TOWARD THE SOUTHERN PANHANDLE THU NIGHT THROUGH FRI. PERIODS OF MID AND HIGH CLOUDS AND COLD TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE WED THROUGH FRI OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE PANHANDLE. STRONG NORTHERLIES AND HIGH GUSTS OUT OF PASSES WILL CONTINUE ON WED OVER THE NORTHERN HALF...THEN DIMINISH OVER ALL BUT THE FAR NORTHERN AREAS. WINDS WILL INCREASE AGAIN OVER THE ENTIRE NORTHERN HALF AS THE LOW MOVES INTO THE SOUTHEAST GULF ON FRI. THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE PANHANDLE WILL SEE SOME SNOW SHOWERS ON WED AND WED NIGHT WITH THE UPPER LEVEL LOW THEN SHOWERS WILL DIMINISH ON THU AS THE LOW MOVES NORTHEAST. THE POTENTIAL LOW MOVING INTO THE SOUTHEAST GULF MAY BRING SOME OVERRUNNING SNOW TO THE SOUTHERN HALF THU NIGHT THROUGH FRI...WILL KEEP THE POTENTIAL WITH THIS CHANCE TO LIKELY DUE TO LOW CONFIDENCE IN THIS WEAK FEATURE. MEDIUM RANGE MODELS INDICATE THAT THE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVES EAST INTO THE WEEKEND AND AN OCCLUDED FRONT MOVES INTO THE PANHANDLE BRINGING MILDER TEMPERATURES AND RAIN/SNOW. A VERTICALLY STACKED LOW WILL TRACK SOUTH OF THE PANHANDLE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK BRINGING THE POTENTIAL FOR A DRY OFFSHORE FLOW INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. .AJK...WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES PUBLIC...WIND ADVISORY THROUGH 03Z FOR ZONES 17<26-29 WIND CHILL ADVISORY ABOVE 1000 FT THROUGH 03Z FOR ZONES 18-19 MARINE...GALE WARNING ZONES 11-12-13-22-31-32-34 SCA ZONES 21-33-35-36-41-52-53 HEAVY FREEZING SPRAY WARNING ZONES 11<13-21-31-32 MLR/TAR
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, March 2006
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5494822.