A system sweeping into SE AK brought high winds to Yakutat as a front raced northward, and strong winds across much of the northern panhandle.
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The episode as NWS AJK wrote it up.
A system sweeping into SE AK brought high winds to Yakutat as a front raced northward, and strong winds across much of the northern panhandle.
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 Jan 12, 5:45 AM AKST, 7 hours 50 minutes earlier.
Southeast Alaska Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Juneau AK
545 AM AKST Sun Jan 12 2025
.SHORT TERM.../through Sunday night/...
Quick hits:
-Quiet skies early this morning will be replaced by rain and wind
later this afternoon.
-Heaviest precip and strongest winds will be associated with the
frontal passage later this afternoon, mainly after 3PM.
-Temperatures still above normal for mid-January.
Details:
Incoming storm force front will increase cloud cover this morning,
with rain and wind arriving later this afternoon.
The strongest winds will be along the front, so strongest winds
will happen Sunday evening into Sunday night as the front tracks
trough. These windy conditions will be found across the panhandle.
Land areas could see gusts upwards of 30 to 40 mph. Marine zone
winds will range from 25 to 50 knots. More details can be found in
the Marine section below.
The strong southerly flow will keep warmer air in place resulting
in most locations near sea level seeing all rain. Aloft, cooler
temperatures mean that snow is anticipated for the Klondike
Highway, with up to 8 inches of new snow late Sunday afternoon
through Monday morning. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for
the Klondike Highway as a result. The Haines Highway will likely
see snowfalls significantly capped by rising snow levels and
warmer air.
For the rainfall amounts, still expecting between 1 to 2 inches
of rain tonight and tomorrow.
.LONG TERM.../Monday through Saturday/...Active weather pattern
will continue to start next week, with more chances for breaks
between systems later in the week. A period of showers Sunday
night into Monday morning from a decaying front will be followed
up by another gale force system and associated atmospheric river
bringing widespread moderate to heavy precipitation to a majority
of the panhandle. Due to the warm surge from the previous front,
communities at sea level can expect just cool rain Monday. In the
far northern panhandle, Haines and Skagway may see brief bursts of
snow mix in due to wet bulb, but otherwise should also remain all
rain. The heaviest precipitation is expected for the central and
southern panhandle with model IVT values reaching upwards of 500+
kg/ms. For the border highways, confidence continues to grow that
the Klondike Highway will see continuous snow at high elevations
near White Pass. Beginning Monday afternoon with the onset of
heavier precipitation, the area could see 6 hour snow totals
ranging from 2 to 5 inches. For the Haines Highway, the highest
likelihood for snow will also be near the border with lower
overall totals expected due to potential for shadowing from the
terrain.
As the parent low pushes into the interior, a wrap around cold front
will swing towards the panhandle bringing slightly cooler
temperatures Tuesday night into Wednesday. As a result, communities
at sea level, particularly from Icy Strait northward, could
transition to a mix or very wet snow with highest chance for
accumulation being Haines and Skagway. Overall snow levels will be
lowering once more as we see a northerly wind shift in the inner
channels due to the next fast moving system approaching the
panhandle from the south. Depending on the track of this system, the
central and northern panhandle could see a minor overrunning event
similar to earlier in the season, with accumulating snow Wednesday
night into early Thursday. This feature however has been shifting
quite a bit between model runs along with an intervening ridge, so
there is more confidence in the snow potential for the panhandle in
the beginning of the week and less so in the latter half as of this
forecast issuance. Overall a complex pattern that will continue to
be watched closely in the days to come.
Into late week and the weekend, there are indications of some
colder air infiltrating the panhandle from the NW on Friday with
a brief period of outflow winds possible. This is not expected to
be very long lasting as the Yukon high moves off to the east
rather quickly. However, it will be enough for drier weather with
daytime highs struggling to get much above freezing in the
northern half of the panhandle Friday and Saturday.
&&
.AVIATION...
MVFR or worse flight conditions across the panhandle this morning
as weak transient ridge shifts eastward in BC. Through early
morning, worst conditions expected across southern panhandle TAF
sites with intermittent CIGS AoB 1000ft and visibilities dropping
to 1/2 SM or worse in patchy dense fog. Into the afternoon, not
anticipating much improvement as a strong front pushes into the
SEAK panhandle by 00z this afternoon. Main aviation concern will
be LLWS as front pushes inland, as highlighted by the most recent
AAWU forecast, with strongest LLWS expected for coastal and
southern TAF sites. Winds will increase through 00z this
afternoon, up to 25kts sustained with isolated gusts up to 40kts
possible. By this afternoon and into the evening, expect
predominate MVFR or worse flight conditions to remain with CIGS
AoB 3000ft and visibilities down to 1 to 3 SM within heaviest
showers.
&&
.MARINE...The incoming storm force front will have winds ranging
from 35 to 45 kts for most of the gulf. However, 45 to 55 kts will
be found along the northern coast from Cape Spencer to Cape
Suckling beginning this morning and lasting through the afternoon.
Seas in the gulf will highest near the front as it moves east,
building to 30 feet in the central gulf but the eastern gulf will
have seas building to around 20 to 25 feet.
For the inner channels, wind speeds this morning will be around
15 to 20 kts, increasing to around 25 to 30 kts for the afternoon
into early evening. Elevated wind speeds will last into the
overnight, decreasing after midnight.
&&
.AJK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
PUBLIC...Strong Wind from 9 AM AKST this morning through this afternoon
for AKZ317.
Winter Storm Warning from 3 PM this afternoon to 6 AM AKST
Monday for AKZ318.
Dense Fog Advisory until 9 AM AKST this morning for AKZ328.
MARINE...Storm Warning for PKZ651-652-671-672.
Gale Warning for PKZ641>644-661>664.
Small Craft Advisory for PKZ012-013-021-022-031>036-053.
&&
SHORT TERM...GJS
LONG TERM....STJ
AVIATION...NM
MARINE...GJS
Visit us at http://www.weather.gov/JuneauThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Yakutat ASOS station recorded wind gusts in excess of 60 mph for a 4 hour period during a frontal passage. This included a peak gust of 66 mph at 450pm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Alaska in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Alaska, January 2025
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: 1231926.