The record-breaking winter storm has created a dangerous and unprecedented situation for Fairweather Equestrian Center, where 17 horses remain confined indoors.
There are fears that the weight of heavy snow could cause the large barn roof to collapse.
Kristina Friend, who owns horses at Fairweather Stables off Industrial Boulevard, said the ongoing snowfall has left her and other caretakers facing risks they have never encountered before in decades of keeping horses in Juneau.
“I’ve had horses here since the 90s, and we’ve never seen a situation like this.” Friend said, “Usually, our large metal roof slides frequently on its own. But so far, it has not let loose.”
Because of the buildup of snow on the roof, all rear stall doors leading to outdoor paddocks have been locked. Friend said allowing the horses outside could put them directly beneath the roof if it suddenly sheds snow, not only that, Friend says that when snow slides happen, the horses can get spooked, meaning the current safest place remains inside in their stalls.
“We don’t live somewhere that has another facility to house 17 horses, so it’s not really an option to get them out of here and move them somewhere else.” Said Friend, “We’re not able to go into our paddocks to remove the snow because of how large of a building it is, if it was to let loose, it would bury us like an avalanche. So we’re not able to safely get below it to release it, because the barn is 170 feet long and almost just as wide.”
Attempts to address the problem have included flying guide wires over the roof with a drone in hopes of pulling snow loose, but the efforts have so far failed. Caretakers are now renting industrial heaters to try to warm the building enough to encourage snow to slide, though Friend said the barn’s size makes success uncertain.
Friend said there is still a lack of expertise and safety equipment to allow anyone onto the roof.
“We have no way of getting on the roof safely.” Friend Said, “We don’t have any type of equipment for tying anybody down or climbing equipment or anything like that. There’s no way to be up there.”
Friend said the barn’s community has come together to ensure the horses continue to receive care.
“We have a group chat going all the time,” she said. “Everybody pitches in to help with everybody’s horses. So we were making it through. It’s just the stress, it’s not just people that are trapped and not able to get out.”
Friend hopes the community understands the seriousness of the situation and that additional expertise or equipment may help prevent the worst case scenario.
“We’re very concerned the roof could collapse.” Friend said, “It’s so difficult to ask for help because everybody is so stretched thin. We are trying all the suggestions that have been given. We’re just really worried about the horse’s safety and the people for that matter.”
Tyler rental has supplied the Stable with a lift, to remove snow from the roof.
AP- When turbulent weather with whipping winds and heavy snow is in the forecast, meteorologists sometimes warn that a storm could “bomb out” or become a bomb cyclone. But what exactly does this mean?
According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, certain storms undergo bombogenesis, which happens when a storm’s central pressure drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours. These storms are sometimes called bomb cyclones. Storm intensity is measured by central pressure, so the lower the pressure, the stronger the storm.
Such rapidly strengthening storms are capable of producing heavy rain, blizzard conditions and intense winds that can create dangerous conditions such as downed trees and power outages.
“If you’re watching TV at night and the weather report comes on and you’re hearing ‘bomb cyclone’ being used, that usually means there’s quite a bit of active weather going on,” said Andrew Orrison, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland.
Bomb cyclones can happen in any season, but mainly occur during fall and winter when frigid air from the Arctic can creep south and clash with warmer air masses.
“It’s really the clash of those air masses that really kind of helps to generate the areas of low pressure in the first place,” said Orrison.
Regions in North America that are prone to seeing bomb cyclones include Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes region.
“It’s not common to get bomb cyclones at lower latitudes. So generally speaking, you wouldn’t see a bomb cyclone across, let’s say, the southern United States,” said Orrison.
NOTN- Upwards of 3 feet of snow has fallen since the winter storm began Friday night, with more expected today.
Winter storm warnings have been extended until 6 am tomorrow.
The National Weather Service said significant precipitation amounts will persist through the weekend, with hazardous travel conditions possible due to snow accumulation.
Looking ahead, precipitation is expected to become lighter during the latter half of the week. Temperatures are forecast to drop again as colder air moves in from the north.
Flood watches and advisories remain in effect for parts of central and southern Southeast Alaska, where heavy rain and runoff may lead to localized flooding, particularly in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Forecasters urge residents use caution when travelling and stay updated on the latest advisories and warnings.
NOTN- Juneau set yet another record low temperature this December, making it 5 days this month that the Juneau Airport has seen daily lows below zero.
On December 23 Juneau Airport set a new record low of -10 degrees, and according to the National Weather service in Juneau, the airport has had more days below zero in the last two weeks than its had in the last 16 years combined.
Southeast Alaska is also facing a stretch of dangerously cold weather followed by a shift toward snow and mixed precipitation as the week progresses, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters say the region is currently in the grip of very cold, dry air bringing frigid temperatures and hazardous wind chills that are expected to persist through today.
Christmas day will bring a pattern change, as clouds increase and snow chances ramp up across the panhandle. By Friday night and into the weekend, a stronger weather system moving in from the Gulf of Alaska could bring moderate to heavy snow to parts of the region.
Residents are urged to monitor updated forecasts and prepare for rapidly changing weather conditions, especially during the holiday travel period.
The National Weather Service said additional advisories and warnings may be issued as the system develops.
NOTN- Cold weather and heavy snow have hit Juneau, schools are closed today and CBJ offices are opening late, but Streets and Fleets is making sure those who can’t avoid travel, will get where they need to go.
Scott Gray started working for the City and Borough of Juneau in 1994, his job involved hauling snow off city streets.
More than three decades later, Gray now oversees the entire Streets & Fleets division, responsible for maintaining hundreds of miles of roads, sidewalks and public vehicles across the capital city.
Gray is superintendent of CBJ’s Streets & Fleets division, which maintains more than 250 lane miles of roads and roughly 32 miles of sidewalks. The division also manages snow removal, pavement repairs, traffic signs, stormwater systems and emergency response during glacial flooding events.
“One year, we got 194 inches of snow,” Gray said in a post on CBJ’s Facebook. “We were hauling, and hauling, and hauling. Emergency vehicles weren’t going to move if we didn’t do something.”
The work of Streets & Fleets extends well beyond snowstorms.
Planning begins months in advance to ensure equipment is operational and staff schedules are in place before winter arrives.
“Our crews have shifts starting at one in the morning through the afternoon to keep roads safe.” Gray said.
According to CBJ Public Works Streets Division, the Street Maintenance Division provides equipment and staffing for year-round preservation and maintenance of CBJ streets.
Operations include pavement surface maintenance, pedestrian facility maintenance, street sweeping, maintenance of storm drain facilities and snow plowing and removal during the winter months.
A staff of 32 full-time and seasonal employees to keep the streets and sidewalks safe for public travel.
While CBJ crews maintain most city roads, major arterial routes such as Egan Drive, Douglas Highway and North Douglas Highway fall under the responsibility of the Alaska Department of Transportation.
The division’s full-time employees maintain more than 260 vehicles and pieces of equipment used by Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Docks and Harbors and Community Development departments. That includes heavy-duty trucks, off-road equipment, generators and fueling systems.
As infrastructure and technology evolve, so do the demands on fleet maintenance staff. CBJ currently operates four electric vehicles and plans to expand its EV fleet in the future. Modern equipment now relies heavily on computers and emissions systems, increasing the need for specialized maintenance.
U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrews conduct overflights of Kipnuk, Alaska, after coastal flooding impacted several western Alaska communities, Oct. 12, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Air Station Kodiak)
Search and rescue efforts continued into Monday in the Kuskokwim River delta in the aftermath of devastating storm surge and hurricane-force winds brought by the remnants of Typhoon Halong. The storm tore homes from their foundations and sent them floating away.
One woman was found dead in Kwigillingok on Monday, according to Alaska State Troopers.
U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrews conduct overflights of Kipnuk, Alaska, after coastal flooding impacted several western Alaska communities, Oct. 12, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Air Station Kodiak)
The search for two more people unaccounted for in that community will continue, by boat and air, the state troopers said on a Facebook post. Search and rescue is being conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Army National Guard and Alaska Air National Guard, as well as state troopers.
The storm damaged boats, roads, airports, and power and sewer infrastructure over a vast region, and damage assessments were not immediately available as emergency rescue efforts entered a second day.
“We’re moving quickly. We’re moving as fast as we can,” said Gov. Mike Dunleavy at a news conference in Anchorage on Monday with state officials and the congressional delegation.
Fifty-one people and two dogs were rescued in Kwigillingok and Kipnuk on Sunday, Troopers said, located on the Bering Sea coast. Those predominantly Alaska Native coastal communities saw the most severe impacts of the storm, with a storm surge of up to 6.6 feet above normal and high winds that inundated communities.
“Preservation of life is our top priority,” said Capt. Christopher Culpepper, commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic.
“Several of these villages have been completely devastated,” Culpepper said. “Absolutely flooded, several feet deep, and so this took homes off of foundations. This put people in peril, where folks were swimming, floating, trying to find debris to hold on to in the cover of darkness, at nighttime.”
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic Commanding Officer Captain Christopher Culpepper speaks at an Oct. 13, 2025, news conference about rescue work and the response to Typhoon Halong damages in Western Alaska. Behind him and also participating in the news conference held in Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Anchorage office, is David Kramer, a meterologist with the National Weather Service. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
“And so as the sun broke on the first day, devastation became more and more apparent,” Culpepper said, referring to Sunday as the storm lifted. “Coast Guard helicopter crews, along with Army National Guard and Air National crews, particularly two pairs of rescue jumpers that also assisted … picked people up off their homes,” he said, and were taken to higher ground. Several people were medically evacuated to Bethel.
Some people trapped in floating homes early Sunday used their cellphones to call for help. Some of those calls reached the State Emergency Operations Center, said incident commander Mark Roberts.
“The folks that were in houses that were floating and didn’t know where they were, was one of the most tragic things our folks in the state EOC have ever faced,” Roberts said. “And some of them called into the state EOC, and we just stayed on the phone with them to talk.”
Members of the Alaska National Guard and Alaska State Defense Forces living in western Alaska, up to 80 personnel, have been activated, said Maj. Gen. Torrence Saxe, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, which oversees the Alaska National Guard.
“This may end up being the largest off-the-road-system response for the National Guard in about 45 years,” Saxe said.
Over 50 airports were impacted by the storm but largely cleared as of Monday to allow planes to land with emergency supplies and personnel. The coastal communities throughout the region are only accessible by small plane or boat. “There also have been numerous reports to us of roadway damage, boardwalk damage – boardwalks are the roads in this region – and then also the various power outages and lighting problems throughout the region,” said Ryan Anderson, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation.
More than 1,000 people were displaced from their homes across the region, according to estimates from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, the region’s largest healthcare provider.
Roughly 400 people are sheltering in the local school in Kwigillingok, and 680 people in Kipnuk are at the school there, they said. Thirty seven homes in Kwigillingok were destroyed.
Emergency supplies, including water, food, hygiene products, baby formula and bedding are being flown into coastal communities, according to a statement on Monday by YKHC. “The need is great,” they said. The response effort is coordinated between YKHC, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), the Association of Village Council Presidents and the state of Alaska, to assess and respond to community needs.
Medical providers and prescription medications were being sent to Kwigillingok, Kipnuk, Tuntutuliak and Chefornak, they said, and plans were underway to evacuate about 40 people, including elders and pregnant women, to Bethel.
Alaska State Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, said over 1,000 emergency meals had been delivered already to coastal villages, but those supplies would run out.
State Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, speaks at an Oct. 13, 2015, news conference about the impacts of Typhoon Halong’s to Western Alaska. Behind him and also speaking at the news conference, which was held at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Anchorage office, are National Weather Service meteorologist David Kreamer, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic Commanding Officer Captain Christopher Culpepper and Ryan Anderson, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
“They need additional food supplies, and it’s difficult to get people out there,” he said.
He said Kipnuk’s runway was still damaged, and planes could not land there. Power is still out there as well. “There has to be a short-term assessment done of those homes that are out there, whether they are livable or not livable … and needs to be made as quickly as possible,” Hoffman said. “Winter is coming.”
The state of Alaska has activated a multi-agency emergency response, and with the governor’s extended disaster relief declaration, residents and communities are eligible for recovery assistance, including temporary housing assistance.
“We’ve had a few injuries; we’re moving into a higher-level care as needed, and then we’re moving right on in to support sheltering, and then right on into the next to support the ability for people to live in a safe, warm place through the winter,” Roberts said.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he was communicating with officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who would provide assistance.
“FEMA right now is in direct contact with our state and local officials and has an incident management team on the ground and a FEMA search and rescue group pre-positioned on standby,” Sullivan said. “As we move into the recovery phase – and we’re not there yet – the federal agencies need to act very quickly. We’re going to be seeing freeze-up and very cold weather, probably quite soon. So they have committed to being very ready to move into that phase of operations once we get there.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, underscored the trauma residents are experiencing from this disaster. “When the waters subside, when the analysis is complete — we have many, many families (and) we have communities that are in trauma, that will be in shock over the loss and so, making sure that we have trauma specialists, if you will, that are culturally in tune with the region and with the people there is something that I think we all need to be challenged to think about,” she said.
While the Trump administration has recently cut or frozen significant amounts of federal funding for rural Alaska, like for infrastructure and climate resilience initiatives, Murkowski said she will continue to push officials for federal support.
“I think this disaster that we are seeing is yet one more reason why the delegation needs to lean in and make sure that the administration fully understands the value of what it means to to have a level of preparedness, to have a level of resilience in an area that is so exposed on our western flank,” she said.
This week’s disaster came as the remnants of Typhoon Halong battered the region Saturday night into Sunday, sweeping north across the western Alaska coast. The National Weather Service reported hurricane-force winds up to 107 mph in the Kusilvak Census Area, 100 mph in Toksook Bay and 98 mph in the island of St. George in the Bering Sea.
The storm has now weakened over Canada and is moving east, said meteorologist David Kramer, but flood warnings are still in effect for the Kuskokwim Delta and western and northwest Arctic coasts through Tuesday.
Another storm is forecasted for the Kuskokwim River delta region early on Wednesday morning, with winds gusting up to 40 mph from the southeast, and water levels from one to three feet.
“From the records that we set recently, over six feet, this is significantly less impact,” Kramer said. “The main concerns are high water levels, rough surf and the potential for some coastal erosion.”
NOTN- A powerful storm system developing in the Gulf of Alaska is expected to bring hurricane-force winds to Southeast Alaska, forecasters said on Thursday.
Satellite imagery shows the system strengthening as it tracks toward the southern Panhandle, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau. Winds over the gulf are expected to reach 75 mph with gusts up to 92 mph).
A Hurricane Wind Warning has been issued for the Gulf, while a High Wind Warning is in effect for areas of the southern Panhandle from Baranof Island through Frederick Sound South.
Officials urged residents to prepare by checking on family and friends, securing vessels and loose outdoor items, and monitoring updated forecasts at weather.gov/juneau.
“We will continue to watch the development of this system closely and make updates as needed,” forecasters said in a post Thursday.
NOTN- In response to landslides in Alaska, the state established the Landslide Hazards Program in 2022 to assess and communicate landslide risks. A key part of this program is the Alaska Landslide Inventory, a database compiling mapped landslides from published geological reports and newly identified events reported in the news or detected through aerial imagery.
first reported by Alaska Public Media, the inventory classifies landslides by type, including slides, falls, flows, spreads, and thaw-related events, and includes metadata such as kinematic features, and event dates.
While the database is not complete, its goal is to serve as a resource for planners, researchers, and the public to identify landslide-prone areas and reduce economic losses and fatalities.
Users are encouraged to review the methods and limitations of the database, which will be updated periodically as more landslides are mapped and additional data become available.
Over the weekend, Auke lake Trail saw two landslides due to heavy rainfall and intense wind gusts, and for the second time in two years an apartment complex on Gastineau Avenue was evacuated last Wednesday after a landslide caused two trees to fall beside the apartments.
Landslide and downed trees along Auke Lake Trail
Intense weather will continue through late this evening according to the National Weather Service, bringing wind gusts up to 70 mph and heavy rain.
The following is an advisory from the City and Borough of Juneau
Residents are advised to be aware of their surroundings and take precautions as heavy rainfall and wind may increase hazard risk in the Juneau area through late Monday night. Read the full National Weather Service (NWS) Flood Watch notice.
City & Borough of Juneau (CBJ) Parks and Recreation teams closed the Auke Lake Trail on Saturday after two landslides were observed. For their safety, residents should to stay clear of the trail and out of the lake until weather conditions improve and staff can clear the debris.
The National Weather Service also issued a Flood Advisory for Montana Creek. Significant rainfall is increasing water levels around Montana Creek, with water observed in low-lying areas and the potential for flooding on Montana Creek Road and Back Loop Road at the Montana Creek Bridge. If you see water on the road, turn around. Do not drive on flooded roadways. From the National Weather Service Flood Watch for Juneau:
“While the current periods of heavy rainfall will diminish Saturday evening, another band of heavy rain will move through on Sunday. This will result in elevated streams and the potential for minor flooding. This will be followed by a strong system on Monday which will bring with it strong winds and more heavy rain. Rainfall totals of between 3-5 inches are expected during this time, with higher amounts possible in isolated areas and at elevation.”
CBJ will remain in close contact with the NWS and our response partners and provide updates as available. Residents can also stay tuned to weather.gov/Juneau for further developments.
NOTN- A High Wind Warning in Southeast Alaska is disrupting cruise ship schedules in Juneau for tomorrow.
The National Weather Service says winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour with gusts up to 60 are expected through Wednesday evening for the outer coast and islands, including Prince of Wales, Annette, Baranof, Chichagof and Western Kupreanof.
“Over the next 24 hours we are going to see storm-force low along our coast. For the inner channels, we are going to see gale-force to strong gales push up through the inner channels overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.” Said Andrew Park from the National Weather Service Juneau in a social media post.
The Caribbean Princess has extended its stay in Juneau, while the Ruby Princess and Sapphire Princess canceled Wednesday port calls due to the weather.
