Juneau’s first snowfall of the season may come almost right on schedule.
National Weather Service forecasters here expect sunny and cool conditions to continue through Monday, when a low-pressure system moving through the Gulf of Alaska will bring a mix of rain and snow to the panhandle. Forecasters believe the best chance for snow will come on the outer coast of the northern panhandle, with inner channels (including Juneau) getting more rain. Air temperatures will determine whether the storm arrives as snow or rain in Juneau, and computer models currently differ.
After the storm passes over the capital city on Monday, the next chance for rain or snow may not come until late next week. Temperatures are expected to be at or near freezing, with sunny skies, through Wednesday. High winds may develop today and Saturday, particularly in the coast-range passes.
Some Empire readers reported seeing snowflakes in the Mendenhall Valley on Wednesday night and Thursday, but forecasters here said that snow likely was blown from nearby mountaintops because there was little moisture in the air.
On average, Juneau’s first snowfall doesn’t come until Nov. 4, as measured at the airport, where the Weather Service has recorded precipitation since 1936. That’s the first trace: the city’s first inch of snow averages Nov. 10.
The city’s earliest snowfall was Oct. 2, 2000, and its latest first snowfall was Dec. 14, 2002. Last year, six-tenths of an inch of snow fell on Oct. 15. It was the first time since 1940 that Juneau had snow before Fairbanks or Anchorage.
• Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com or call 523-2258.
