It will be a rainy Halloweekend for Southeast Alaska.
The National Weather Service forecasts two separate storm systems. Lead Forecaster Edward Liske said the rain is coming all the way from Hawaii.
“It’s basically drawing moisture up from that area and into our area, which is why we’re getting all the heavy rainfall,” he said.
The first system arrives Friday night through Saturday, and may bring wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour in some places.
Liske said they expect between one and three inches of rain through Saturday evening. But it won’t stop there.
“Then it comes back with a vengeance on Sunday afternoon into Sunday night,” he said. “Probably two to four inches of rainfall, maybe even a little bit more, out of that between Sunday afternoon into Sunday night, maybe even into early Monday.”
The city is reminding boat owners to check their vessels ahead of time to make sure mooring lines are secure and pumps are operating.
Late Friday, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for a large swathe of Southeast Alaska including Juneau, Gustavus, Hoonah, Pelican, Sitka, Petersburg, Craig, Klawock, Ketchikan and Metlakatla. The watch will be in place from Sunday morning through Monday morning, which is also when the largest rain amounts are expected to occur. The weather service expects to update that flood watch announcement by Saturday evening.
