A strong fall storm will move across the Gulf of Alaska Friday afternoon, bringing heavy rain and strong winds to Southeast communities through Saturday.
The front originates from a low pressure system that’s currently hanging over the western gulf near Kodiak. It’s already battering the island community with gusts of up to 75 miles per hour.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Grant Smith said the storm is headed toward Southeast Alaska now. It’ll hit outer coast communities from Yakutat to Prince of Wales Island first, before spreading inland.
“It’s just a front moving essentially from west to east,” he said. “So we’ll start seeing the winds and rain along the coast, beginning this evening. And then once you get into the overnight and the weekend, that’s when the rest of the Panhandle will see the rain.”
Most places can expect rainfall totals between two and three inches at sea level, though there could be more rain on mountain slopes.
“The moisture amounts are not really all that impressive for Southeast Alaska,” he said. “The strongest winds are going to happen when the front moves through tonight into early tomorrow.”
Communities including Petersburg, Wrangell, Juneau, Hoonah, Gustavus and Yakutat could see wind speeds between 30 and 50 miles per hour as the storm passes through.
Further south, winds could be even stronger, with gusts of up to 60 miles per hour. A high wind warning is in effect from 1 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday for Sitka, Craig, Klawock, and Hydaburg. Ketchikan and Metlakatla are under a high wind warning effective from 4 a.m. through 1 p.m. Saturday.
Winds that strong can blow down trees and powerlines, causing property damage and the potential for widespread power outages.
People are encouraged to secure their vessels or any other loose objects that could be blown around or damaged by the winds