It has been a cold start of the week in Southeast Alaska. Daily records were broken across the panhandle by low temperatures in the teens, single digits, and Sitka, Haines, Sitka, Ketchikan and Metlakatla, including for Haines, Sitka, Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island.
Brian Bezenek, National Weather Service, Juneau, said that the cold will soon ease.
He said that the Yukon’s high pressure, which had been bringing in all of the cold air, is now retreating. A weather front will be blowing in from the southwest out the Pacific. It will move in Wednesday night and Thursday into Friday across the Panhandle,” he stated in a telephone interview Tuesday morning.
The front is expected bring heavy snow to the southern panhandle. Starting Thursday afternoon, six to eight inches of snow are expected in Ketchikan. Snow is expected to fall in the northern and central panhandles on Friday through Saturday.
However, if you are hoping for a white Christmas, it might not be possible. Bezenek believes a rainy Christmas is more likely because snow will turn to rain in the southern Panhandle on Saturday.
He said that temperatures are expected to rise to the high 30s and low 40s by Christmas Day. “We might melt all of your beautiful new snow before then but there will likely be precipitation during Christmas Day.”
According to him, forecasters expect snow to change to rain later in the central panhandle. Even with the rising temperatures, northern panhandle communities could see snowfall.
Although temperatures fell to a new low this week, Bezenek said they are not close to breaking all-time records. According to the Weather Service, temperatures plunged to 5°C in Ketchikan Monday. However, the community’s lowest temperature of minus-7 degrees was recorded in January 1916.
Some communities have been faced with freezing pipes and icy roads. Saxman, south-east of Ketchikan’s downtown, shut down parts of its water system Monday while crews fixed leaks. Metlakatla’s tribal government requested residents to conserve electricity as the cold had pushed the community’s grid to its limit.
Patty Wahto, Juneau International Airport Manager, says that snowy weather can disrupt flights but her crews are prepared.
“We are ready for winter, both in terms of what we do on runways and what airlines do to bring in passengers. We also have a plan in place for any cancellations or delays. She said that at the moment, she was only in operational mode for winter.
She advises that travelers arriving by car need to allow extra time to find parking spots — the airport’s lots look crowded.
Similar story in Ketchikan. Alex Peura, the airport manager, says that his crews are prepared for snow. Holiday travelers are expected to crowd the parking lots near Gravina Island airport. He says that there should be ample parking on the recently expanded Revilla Island lot.
“We have not seen it full to capacity before.” He said that while we are anticipating Christmas, the place is filling up quickly this week. However, there’s plenty of parking available on the town side.
Officials at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport stated that some airlines cancelled flights Tuesday due to the expected snowy and cold conditions. Flight tracking website FlightAware displayed hundreds of cancellations and delays at SeaTac Tuesday, which could make Christmas travel more difficult from Southeast Alaska to Lower 48.
