Just checked extended forecast for August...

[DrMomof2]

We leave on the Pearl on Aug 16th, and I know the weather in SE Alaska is variable/unpredictable, so who knows how accurate an extended forecast really is......but seeing nothing but rain icons for Juneau and Skagway is a bummer. :(

 

Ah, well. My first trip to Alaska so it's not like I have any expectations to live up to!

 

Guess I'll re-think my packing list a bit though.

[Keith1010]

You are right. Forecasts are just forecasts and I would not worry about it right now.

 

You should always be prepared for all sorts of weather so the key is to layer and to be prepared for sunny, windy, rainy, and cool weather.

 

Keith

[ronandannette]

...and apparently they change regularly...I just looked at the 14-day forecasts on Thursday for the ports on our itinerary (Southbound Aug. 14 - 21) and they were all sunny/partly sunny and temperatures in the 60's :(. Here's hoping for the best that the forecasts will swing back in our favour!

Edited August 8, 2015 by ronandannette

[xlxo]

• August and September has a higher likelihood of wet weather compared to May to July.
  
• Extended forecasts will change and often it's not wet all day.
  
• In Skagway, there are microclimates if you get away from the port on the Klondike highway.
  

Good Luck.

[goodmud]

Don't worry about it - it was forecasting rain every day that we were in Alaska. We had overcast skies a lot and a little bit of rain, but it was never a heavy downpour. I found the overcast skies and the fog made the trip more mystical and certainly make the colors of the glaciers more intense! Enjoy!

[DrMomof2]

...and apparently they change regularly...I just looked at the 14-day forecasts on Thursday for the ports on our itinerary (Southbound Aug. 14 - 21) and they were all sunny/partly sunny and temperatures in the 60's :(. Here's hoping for the best that the forecasts will swing back in our favour!

 

Well then, we can at least have a 50/50 chance!

[RN7997]

I leave next Sunday on the Jewel and have been watching too. At one point it showed 60s-70s and mixes of sun in the forecast now just a week out looks like 50s up to 60s with rain daily :( This is my first trip like this too. Rain jacket is on order! lol Hoping it changes!

[mek]

It can change in a heartbeat - we had great weather on our June cruise but the forecast for Juneau was rain, rain, and more rain - right up to the day before we arrived. It turned out to be a cloudless and beautiful day. :)

[urbanhawk]

My 1st cruise was to Alaska was in late May 2007. The cruise started in Seward, pouring down rain; Sitka was gray and drizzly; clear/cloudy in Skagway, but no rain; mostly rain in Juneau; and the most beautiful warm sunny day in Ketchikan (where it rains more than anywhere in S.E. Alaska-go figure!) Some people on this cruise were doing a B2B, and had sun every day the previous week.

 

My next cruise to Alaska is the day after Labor Day-guess I'll take others advice and be prepared for anything-layered clothing, raingear, and hopefully some sun gear!;)

[Budget Queen]

Frankly- it is a waste of time to give predictions any credibility. :) I'm a firm believer in packing a wide range of attire, which is always the same, any time I'm there during the cruise season. I see all those, I didn't need it- "except" during the whole week. How would it have been with that "except" if they didn't have it? Relying on laundry greatly cuts down on bulk. I never check the weather in advance for my trips. I go outside and give an assessment then. :)

[tee_harbor]

[*]August and September has a higher likelihood of wet weather compared to May to July.

 

And July in Juneau was just the wettest in recorded history. :D Yet there were sunny warm days in there. It was just that when it rained, it poured.

 

I generally don't watch the forecast, because as you can see, it can be maddening, but I had tourists to show around last Sunday, so I checked at least once a day every day up until the Sunday so that I could adapt my plan as need be. The forecast literally changed every single day, sometimes a couple times a day, until the Sunday...When it was sunny and warm. I got a bit of a sunburn even.

[bwaz]

We just got back from our Solstice cruise. We also were worried by the dreary forecasts. But the weather was much different I also saw nothing but clouds and rain in the forecasts but when we got there we had sunny days and overcast but dry mixed in with a couple of rainy days.

 

Sent from my LG-D801 using Forums mobile app

[Straymo]

We sail Sunday on the Oosterdamn and the forecasts looks pretty dreary for Juneau and Skagway. Less chance of rain in Ketchican earlier in the week. We've got rain gear and will take it as it comes. I only hope it doesn't effect our whale watching with Harv and Marvs.

 

I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED!

[AKStafford]

Keys to Alaskan weather:

 

• long range forecasts are worthless
  
• hope for the best
  
• plan for the worse (there's no bad weather, just being badly prepared for the weather)
  
• get out and have fun no matter what
  

[DrMomof2]

We sail Sunday on the Oosterdamn and the forecasts looks pretty dreary for Juneau and Skagway. Less chance of rain in Ketchican earlier in the week. We've got rain gear and will take it as it comes. I only hope it doesn't effect our whale watching with Harv and Marvs.

 

I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED!

 

We leave this coming sunday too and also have Harv and Marv reserved for Juneau! So right there with you on the excitement....regardless of potential rain!

[CruisingSince2012]

Normally, I check the forecast for my destination the day before I leave. Today I decided not to because I have to pack for all four seasons anyway. Everybody says Alaska weather is unpredictable and we should dress in layers every day - some say we should be like onions. So why should I check the forecast for four ports of call?

 

That said, I am assuming we will get temperatures in the 60s and 70s in Juneau and Ketchikan but will need more layers in Skagway.