Probably the first thing that anyone in Juneau will mention to an outsider is rain. The second thing is snow. Lots of it. A typical winter will bring 70-100 inches of snow at sea level. Go up to the ski resort, snow accumulation may exceed 300 inches. This section of the journal will focus on snow. It was a big part of our lives. It kept us in shape, needless to say.
So What Did You Wake Up To This Morning?
This series of photos is largely unaltered, capturing various attributes of life in Southeast Alaska. These pictures were taken in 2022, so I was retired and not having to commute to work. So this picture was taken around 9 AM. It actually looks this gloomy! And to think that what you have to look forward to is to immediately clean off the front deck. On a normal work-a-day routine, this would have been done in the dark before 7:30 AM, along with my wife’s car. Me? I would usually take the bus and save myself the hassle of having to clean off the Nissan Pathfinder. After the car, I would have to clean around my wife’s car so she could get out into the street.
This is what greets me when I climb up the stairs from our bedroom. The first thing I see is what is out our living room window. This is our beloved Red Alder that faithfully protected us from the infamous Taku winds that blow down the channel. The other thing that deflected the wind was the roof the church below. Windows of this size, without protection from the wind, actually flex and pop. Sometimes they break.
Also, note the lights on the window edge. This picture was taken January 17th. Folks in Juneau are often slow to remove Christmas lights because of the long hours of darkness we experience in winter.
So how much did it snow? I typically keep the railing and the deck clear of snow. We feed the birds using the deck railing as well as conventional feeders. As you can see, this snowstorm brought us only about 5-6 inches. This is an average snowstorm for us. Before the day is out, the deck will be cleared, the railing clean, the bird food restocked, and the deck will be covered with birds before the day is out.
Knowing how much snow I will facing that day, I walk up to the front of the house to assess what awaits. Even as a retired person, you know full well that the front steps will need to be cleared, at least one of the cars cleared, and the driveway all cleared. This will be my day’s work, something I usually packed in before 7:30 AM. A fresh snowstorm usually leaves fluffy snow. That means it is relatively easy to shovel. Wait till the next day, you may be in deep trouble. If rain or another snow fall follows, you will simply get further and further behind.
© Copyright 2026 to Eric Niewoehner
Last Updated: January 17, 2026