A downed tree by Dairy Drive in Skagway, state DOT workers moved it aside to allow access to the neighborhood. (Mike Swasey photo)
Extreme winds and cold temperatures continue their grip on Skagway. There were reports of downed trees and branches, frozen pipes, and broken windows after windchills dipped to near 40 below zero Wednesday night. The weather has also led to delays in freight being delivered to local merchants.
The National Weather Service in Juneau clocked wind speeds at Skagway’s airport as strong as 56 knots on Wednesday night.
“That is 64 miles per hour,” said meteorologist Pete Boyd. He also said the winds may calm down some leading into the weekend, but another big system is forecast to move through the region by Sunday.
“One, we’re going to start seeing temperatures warm. Two, we’re going to see a significant amount of snow start moving in Skagway, you start getting that a little bit more into Sunday. But we also see the winds pick right back up. So gusts of getting back up to 40, probably 50 miles per hour as the systems move through,” said Boyd.
Alaska Marine Lines is the company that offloads freight and delivers it in town. But Lee McKinney from the AC Fairway Market says they tried to offload the grocery store’s freight on Wednesday and again on Thursday with no luck.
“It’s not only just the wind, but I understand this the extreme cold too is raising havoc on the equipment,” said McKinney.
He said AML uses a pass-pass system where there’s one forklift on the barge and another onshore. The two operators pass freight between each other. But between equipment problems, high wind, and rough seas the barge remains moored and nothing has been offloaded as of Thursday afternoon.
“I’m in favor of them being safe I mean, it’s freight, it’s important. I want it in the store so I can sell it. But I don’t want anybody getting hurt over doing that,” said McKinney.
An AML representative declined to comment directly for this article but did say the barge won’t leave Skagway before it’s been offloaded.
Laura Mabee lives in a second-story rental in the middle of town. She says it’s an older, drafty house, and those drafts caused the pipes leading to the water heater to freeze.
“It happened pretty quickly and the space heater was actually right next to it. Maybe within inches,” said Mabee.
She said she moved her bedroom into the living room on Wednesday night.
“It’s a pretty nice nest in front of my Toyo I created with lambskins and all of my comforters. I brought like 10 pillows into the living room and chose to sleep on the floor directly in front of my heater,” Mabee said it sounded like an earthquake rumbling all night.
Lee Thompson lives in a cabin on the north side of Skagway, in addition to the material on his brand new metal post and fabric carport getting shredded by the wind, the noise it created didn’t allow him much rest on Wednesday night.
A snow squall near Skagway’s Airport as winds gust over 50 mph. (Mike Swasey photo)
“Loud slams, branches falling. I heard a couple of things hit the roof of the house. And it was, yeah, it kind of made me question the structural integrity of the home I’m living in,” said Thompson.
Neither the Skagway Fire nor Police departments reported any emergency calls overnight, but DOT crews did clear a cottonwood tree that had toppled onto Dairy Drive on the north end of town on Thursday morning. Other down trees were spotted at Seven Pastures and scattered branches joined large snowdrifts throughout the town.
Skagway residents are used to high winds and cold temperatures, but most are getting restless for this cold snap to finally pass.
