A blizzard brought high winds to downtown Juneau and several inches of snow to the Mendenhall Valley on Monday.
National Weather Service meteorologist Andrew Park said the Mendenhall Valley got 3 to 6 inches of snow and light wind. Meanwhile, downtown faced 60 to 70-mile-per-hour gusts.
“If you stayed in the Valley the whole day, you might have thought it was a beautiful winter wonderland day with not a whole lot going on,” he said. “As soon as you headed downtown, the story changed.”
Heavy winds damaged and ultimately sank a boat in Harris Harbor. Harbormaster Matthew Creswell said they’re working with the owner and U.S. Coast Guard on recovery efforts and pollution mitigation.
“There doesn’t seem to be a big pollution threat from the vessel, but the potential is always there,” he said.
Electricians were in Douglas Harbor on Tuesday to restore power, which went out early Monday evening. As of 1 p.m. on Tuesday, they were still working on it.
Creswell said harbor staff are working to remove snow from the Auke Bay and Statter Harbors.
Capital Transit buses will run on modified snow routes through Tuesday. There is no bus service on Franklin St. and Fourth St. downtown or on Cordova St. in Douglas.
More snow accumulated out the road. Park said residents from Lena to Tee Harbor reported 8 to 12 inches of snow. Snowfall in other Southeast communities also hit the double digits. Park said Gustavus residents reported 8 to 15 inches, and Hoonah and Angoon got at least 16 inches of snow.
The National Weather Service expects snow to continue falling in Skagway, Haines and Klukwan until late Tuesday afternoon.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the forecast calls for rain through the rest of the week in Juneau. Wind gusts could get up to 35 miles per hour Tuesday afternoon, 30 miles per hour tonight and 20 miles per hour after midnight.
Snow isn’t in Juneau’s forecast again until Saturday morning.
