This is a developing story.
TGIF? Maybe not so much today, with the National Weather Service Juneau forecasting up to 13 inches of snow from a storm expected to hit between 9 a.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday.
The storm will affect areas throughout the northern Southeast Panhandle, with gale-force winds arriving before the snow in some exposed marine areas, according to a weather statement issued at 5:13 a.m. Friday NWS Juneau. Winds in Juneau are expected to moderate during the storm — and Haines could get the heaviest rate of snowfall during a 12-hour peak of accumulation — but the capital city may be heaviest hit in the end.
“Juneau again could be the focal point for the best snowfall accumulations with the potential for 6 inches to a foot of snow,” the weather statement notes.
A subsequent warning updated the accumulation forecast for Juneau to between five and 13 inches.
“Travel will be very difficult and is discouraged unless it is an emergency,” the warning states. “The hazardous conditions could impact (the) evening commute.”
The forecast beyond Saturday morning calls for mixed snow and rain possible through Monday, with partly cloudy skies afterward through Thursday.
Juneau broke the snowfall record for January with 76.8 inches of snow at Juneau International Airport and has already been hit with two significant storms in February. The all-time record for February — or any single month — in Juneau is 86.3 inches set in February of 1965.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
