This is a developing story.
Update, Wednesday 10 a.m.:
Thane Road reopened at 9 a.m. Avalanche risk remains elevated in slide zones amid warming temperatures. A winter storm warning remains in effect until noon.
Update, Tuesday at 6:45 p.m.
The city issued an advisory at around 6:30 p.m. saying the risk of urban avalanches will continue to elevate overnight due to heavy snowfall and wind. The city encourages residents in avalanche paths to be prepared by packing a go bag and clearing snow off of cars in the event of an evacuation advisory. John Bressette, Juneau’s avalanche advisor, wrote on the avalanche webpage that Gold Creek and Thane paths release avalanches more frequently due to North winds. He plans to post an update in the morning.
Original Story:
The City & Borough of Juneau announced early facility closures Tuesday as a snowstorm affected road conditions and the state will close Thane Road at 6 p.m.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, which is expected to end Wednesday at noon.
Early city facility closures include the pools, public libraries, the Treadwell Arena, Zach Gordon Youth Center, Dimond Park Fieldhouse and Mount Jumbo Gym. The pools will also delay opening on Wednesday.
The city plans to provide an update on facility hours for Wednesday in the morning.
The city encourages residents to stay off the roads if possible. Capital City Transit is skipping some stops and bus delays are expected.
Dan Slagle is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Juneau. He said that while the heavy snowfall has made driving more difficult, he does not predict the same public safety concerns that Juneau faced during intense back-to-back storms this winter, which led the city to declare a disaster in January.
“I don’t think we’re expecting anything like we saw in December in terms of the flooding and the snow load issues,” Slagle said.
Slagle said about 5.4 inches of snow fell at the forecast office in the Mendenhall Valley Monday and another 5 to 6 inches have fallen since midnight Tuesday. More snow is expected through Wednesday, and could accumulate to a foot or more.
The Department of Transportation closed Thane Road due to a high avalanche hazard to the roadway, and plans to reevaluate the closure at 6 a.m. on Wednesday.
John Bressette, the city’s avalanche advisor, issued an update saying that a couple of small avalanches occurred on Mount Juneau Monday night, which lowers the risk of larger avalanches. He says he doesn’t expect avalanches will damage homes at this time, but he is working with other forecasters to monitor the situation.
A warm-up expected Thursday should turn the snow to rain.
