A panoramic of Douglas Island from underneath the Douglas Bridge on Monday, April 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

A panoramic of Douglas Island from underneath the Douglas Bridge on Monday, April 15, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Rain, sleet, hail, graupel: It’s been a weird weather week for Juneau

Weather continues to be warmer than normal

If you were tracking precipitation in Juneau this week, you might have been expecting frogs to drop from the sky next.

Rain, sleet, hail, graupel (those mini-snow balls that are like hail but smaller and softer) and even snow fell in Juneau this week, making for one of the wildest and most confusing weather stretches of the year. The snow — which amounted to just 0.1 inch — was the first April snowfall in Juneau since 2014, and was the latest snowfall to happen since April 30, 2006.

It was the eighth-latest snowfall on record in Juneau. The latest snowfall came on May 13, 1965, according to National Weather Service statistics. April was about two degrees above normal and about half an inch of precipitation above normal.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Meteorologist Bob Tschantz said via phone Friday that cold air from the western part of the state swept down into the Gulf of Alaska and then down to Southeast. Temperatures were low in the clouds, and when precipitation started to fall, it brought cold temperatures down with it.

“March, we had that period of warm weather, (then) we suddenly had chilly weather,” Tschantz said. “It’s springtime and rapid transitions can happen this time of year.”

Starting this weekend, another one of those transitions could be coming to the capital city. Forecasts for this weekend and next week call for sunny skies and warmer temperatures, and Tschantz said May is likely to be warmer and drier than April as well.

March was a record-setting one for Southeast, as 26 sites in the region experienced record highs at some point in March, according to NWS statistics. Juneau experienced its 19th driest March on record, and the Juneau International Airport — which usually experiences about a foot of snow in March — only got 0.3 inches of snowfall.

Much of Southeast Alaska has been experiencing a drought for more than a year, which even a somewhat wet April can’t stop. As of the end of March, 52 inches of snow had fallen at the airport during the season, well short of its usual average of 86.7 inches. April’s 0.1 inch of snowfall didn’t move the needle much.

Kevin Prestegard and Liz Diamond descend the Calhoun Avenue stairs under a blossoming cherry tree on Friday, April 19, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)

Kevin Prestegard and Liz Diamond descend the Calhoun Avenue stairs under a blossoming cherry tree on Friday, April 19, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)


• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.


More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of March 23

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

A Capital City Transit Center electric bus (left) and diesel bus (right) wait for passengers at the Downtown Transit Center on Friday, March 7, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Capital Transit is constructing a charging station for its new electric buses

Capital Transit superintendent says fleet offering better experience than first electric bus received in 2020.

Signs at the front of the Alaska State Capitol on Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, indicate a designated entrance for legislators and their staff, and direct members of the public to a separate door. The signs were in anticipation of a security screening policy that was put on hold, but on Monday a similar policy was approved by the Legislative Council. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Airport-style security screening coming soon to Alaska State Capitol after Legislative Council’s OK

“It will probably be a couple weeks before it’s all in place,” says Rep. Sara Hannan, the council’s chair.

William Steadman, a Juneau resident, has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of producing child pornography, according to law enforcement officials. (Photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice)
Juneau man faces minimum 25-year sentence after guilty plea to federal child pornography charge

William Steadman, 35, has prior child pornography conviction from 2018.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Saturday, March 29, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Friday, March 28, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Thursday, March 27, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Angie Flick (center), finance director for the City and Borough of Juneau, explains to Assembly members the financial impacts of various adjustments to the mill rate during a Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Proposed CBJ budget eyes increase to 10.19 mills due to school building takeover, other costs

Unknowns as Assembly begins two-month process are contract negotiations, federal funding.

Most Read