The strong storm system that hit Wrangell on Nov. 20 struck across Southeast Alaska, dumping snow in the north, rain in the south and heavy winds throughout.
A landslide closed parts of North Tongass Highway in Ketchikan on Nov. 20 and Alaska Power & Telephone reported that several slides and snapped poles took out power on Prince of Wales Island, including at Hydaburg, Thorne Bay, the Klawock-Hollis Highway and between Craig and Klawock. A road was also washed out in Coffman Cove.
The Klawock School District opened up its gym for people stuck in town by the road closures.
State-maintained roads were open and power mostly restored on the island the next day, with some outages lingering into a second day.
Wind gusts as high as 60 mph were reported in the Ketchikan area the evening of Nov. 20, and winds in Craig peaked at 63 miles per hour, according to National Weather Service reporting.
The Inter-Island Ferry Authority canceled its service between Ketchikan and Hollis that day.
Juneau recorded a 90 mph gust near the downtown library in the early evening. The National Weather Service Juneau office reported an unofficial reading of a 103 mph gust at Rocky Island, about 25 miles west of Juneau at the junction of Chatham, Icy Strait and Lynn Canal.
Schools, government offices and facilities, and some businesses were closed for some or all of the day in Juneau, which experienced several power outages, though only one extended overnight.
The blizzard-like blowing snow and low visibility forced the cancellation of all Alaska Airlines’ scheduled flights into Juneau on Nov. 20.
Strong winds in Sitka, gusting as high as 46 mph, knocked down trees, taking out a power line which caused a brief outage. Though Sitka’s rainfall on Nov. 20 was less than a couple of inches, the community recorded 9.10 inches of rain in the first 20 days of November, more than one-third above normal.
More than 15 inches of snow was reported at Gustavus and the same total north of Haines.
The storm knocked out six U.S. Coast Guard Rescue VHF towers, limiting the agency’s ability to pick up distress calls on Channel 16 in some areas of Southern Southeast until the towers — including one on Zarembo Island — are repaired and restored to full working order. The agency was still working last week to restore full coverage.
This story includes reporting from the Ketchikan Daily News, Juneau Empire and Sitka Sentinel.
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