The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm advisory for Juneau and other communities across the Northern Panhandle from late Tuesday evening through Thursday morning.
Juneau has enjoyed more than a week of dry conditions and sunny skies, but the forecast predicts that that will come to an end as several low pressure fronts coming in off the Gulf of Alaska dump a mix of snow and rain across Southeast.
NWS Meteorologist Grant Smith explained the outlook for the coming days in a YouTube video Monday night.
“The biggest impacts will be in the middle of the week, that Wednesday, Thursday timeframe,” Smith said. “Moderate snow, then switching over to rain.”
Communities in the Northern Panhandle, where temperatures will remain cooler, could see more snow. The forecast predicts 4 to 8 inches in the Icy Strait corridor and more than a foot in Haines and Skagway.
In Juneau, sunny days have come with cold temperatures, with a record low recorded at the airport early this week. Warming temperatures will bring a switch from snow to rain, especially in the Southern panhandle.
It’s not clear yet exactly how the wet front will coincide with warming temperatures. That timing could affect how much snow falls.
“A difference of timing in when that switchover happens as little as two, three hours, could mean an inch and a half of extra snow or less snow,” Smith said in the video.
Regardless, wet weather is expected through the end of the week and into the weekend.
The urban avalanche advisory for Juneau has been low, but storms that combine heavy precipitation with warming temperatures can increase avalanche risk significantly. People who live in avalanche zones should continue to consult the advisory as the front passes through.
This story has been updated to reflect that the winter storm watch was upgraded to a winter storm advisory.
