Heavy rainfall Tuesday and Wednesday in Southeast Alaska could cause mudslides and landslides, the National Weather Service said.
In a special weather statement, the weather service said rainfall totals as high as three inches by Tuesday night are possible in some areas, with up to an additional inch and a half on Wednesday. Wind speeds of 40 to 55 mph are also forecast for the region.
"With the strong winds and a really wet ground, the soil is much looser," Juneau National Weather Service meteorologist Geri Swanson said. She added that, as of Tuesday morning, landslides were possible anywhere in the Southeast Alaska.
While rain will fall at lower elevations, snow is forecast at higher elevations, at at some locations including the Haines and Klondike highways. A separate winter weather advisory calls for 3 to 5 inches of snow on the Haines Highway west of Klukwan.
The weather service is also predicting small streams will rise and water levels to reach the banks, without flooding and warned of the possibility of power outages and uprooted trees.
According to Swanson, Southeast has had a slightly more rain that normal for January. In Juneau, she said, the average rainfall is only 5 inches. By 7 a.m., Tuesday, the weather service had recorded 6 inches at the state capital.