Alaska in September

[luvmygirlz]

 

Anyone been to Alaska in September?What is the weather like?

[CruiserBruce]

If you look around this is discussed frequently. Cooler and wetter. Yes, some will come on and say their weather was perfect, and you could certainly have good weather. But be aware there have been good storms in September (there was just one this last weekend) and some have had severe enough winds to damage ships, close ports, etc. We had sleet on Labor Day a number of years ago.

 

Always a good idea to Google search weather in  your ports. Try "Juneau September weather". 

[Heidi13]

5 hours ago, luvmygirlz said:

 

Anyone been to Alaska in September?What is the weather like?

 

I completed 2 consective Alaska seasons and in September the weather changed every week. Could be warm with clear skies 1 week and the next a 70 kt storm. 

[AKStafford]

Alaska is a big state... Weather in Kotzebue will be different than weather in Ketchikan. So, where in Alaska are you asking about? Here in Southcentral Alaska, we woke up to snow on the ground today.

[luvmygirlz]

Oh wow, I did not realize the storms.  What time of year would be better?  we are doing round trip out of seattle

[oaktreerb]

June, July, August

[Ashland]

2 hours ago, luvmygirlz said:

Oh wow, I did not realize the storms.  What time of year would be better?  we are doing round trip out of seattle

We prefer mid to late May and out of Seattle wouldn't be my first choice....North bound would be if at all possible. Having said that we've also done early September round trip out of Vancouver and due to scheduling we'll be doing that time frame (itinerary) again in 2022.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, luvmygirlz said:

Oh wow, I did not realize the storms.  What time of year would be better?  we are doing round trip out of seattle

 

We prefer May/June and you will spend more time in Alaska if you cruise from Vancouver or Seward/Whittier.

[Crew News]

3 hours ago, luvmygirlz said:

Oh wow, I did not realize the storms.  What time of year would be better?  we are doing round trip out of seattle

My favorite month for Alaska cruises is May, the driest month, with just a hint of snow in the higher elevations. Southeast Alaska is in a temperate rain forest so I expect rain and am happy when i have blue skies.  I avoid sailing out of Seattle because of long exposure to the Pacific Ocean and it's rougher seas.  Sailing out of Vancouver via the Inside Passage is a much smoother ride.

 

My last visit to September had 85 knot winds from the side and water over the bow while exposed to a typhoon. That said, I am returning to Alaska September 2022 with Holland America.because of the stops in so many smaller towns that do not normally see cruise ships.

[gottagoacruzn]

First time I went to Alaska, was in Sept. Was rainy, cold & of course sunny. Just go prepared no matter what!!

[Northern Aurora]

I am actually posting from a cruise ship in SE Alaska.  Any one who considers a September cruise needs to have very realistic expectations.  It is clear to me that some fellow passengers didn’t have realistic expectations and were ill prepared for the volume of rain we experienced today.  

[SomewhereGirl]

What caught me off guard last week was the wind in Ketchikan.  I guess I forgot about that from the same trip four years prior.  Wind or rain is fine, but both at the same time is no fun.  Didn't the wind push a Celebrity ship into the Ketchikan dock a few years back?

Edited September 22, 2021 by SomewhereGirl

[CruiserBruce]

Ships unable to get into Sitka the next couple of days do to wind and seas.

[Ashland]

5 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Ships unable to get into Sitka the next couple of days do to wind and seas.

Other options or just additional day at sea?

[CruiserBruce]

2 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Other options or just additional day at sea?

Last I heard, another day at sea.

[geoherb]

I went August 22 on the Majestic Princess. We never saw the sun. It rained most days. Fortunately, it was just overcast and not raining when our ship was in Glacier Bay. The only really rainy day was in Ketchikan. I wore a water-repellant windbreaker and had a small travel umbrella. My shoes this trip, though, weren't waterproof. I walked from Ketchikan to Saxman and back. It was intermittent rain on the way and heavier rain on the way back. I did not get wet enough to be miserable. 

 

Some of the people on cruises this month had better weather than I did last month. It's always the luck of the draw. This was the first time it's ever rained when I was in Ketchikan--which is unusual for a place that gets 141 inches of rain a year and it rains two-thirds of the days a year.

[callofthewild]

We have a Celebrity cruise booked for September 11, 2022.  We've been to Alaska 6 times before and loved every time.  However, this will be our first time going in September for 11 days.  My question is about taking a flight from the port of Ketchikan to Traitors Cove for bear viewing.  Do bears generally still catch salmon this late in the season?  Also, a bit worried about extreme weather flying on a small craft that time of year but really want to do bear viewing.  Anyone ever done this during September?  Any advice you would like to give is appreciated.  Thanks

[don't-use-real-name]

On 9/22/2021 at 6:33 AM, CruiserBruce said:

Ships unable to get into Sitka the next couple of days do to wind and seas.

You realize that Sitka is on the unprotective Pacific Ocean side of the inside

passage and is a days travel around the Alexander archipelago of the inside

passage islands to get to an alternative port.

The same would be of the Hubbard Glacier at Yakutat access via the expanse of the Pacific Ocean.

 

Its gonna be a rough ride - hunker down - fasten your seat belt - - - make mine a double !

[nini]

The following is from a thread on the Princess board by @KamAZ. This should help add to the dubious timing of September. The ship departed from Seattle a day late (weather issues) and should return to Seattle this Sunday (Oct. 3).

 

"Not sure if my fellow cruisers have seen the weather update for later this week yet, but we might be facing some rough seas after Ketchikan on Friday. Here's what the weather channel is saying in a special weather statement: 

• "High wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph are possible from the southern Inner Channels including Ketchikan northwest along the coast to Baranof Island and Sitka all the way to Yakutat. The threat includes Prince of Wales Island as well. Friday night is the most likely threat, but the winds could persist longer, especially into Yakutat Saturday morning. High wind watches have been posted from late Friday afternoon through Saturday morning. Should the storm move inland across the northern Panhandle, other areas may see gusts to 60 mph as well, including Juneau and Gustavus. Should the storm track closer to the coast, Wrangell and Kake could receive stronger winds. As confidence grows, high wind watches could be extended elsewhere.
• Over the waters, we now expect storm force winds of 50 to 60 kt over the Gulf of Alaska from late Friday afternoon through Saturday morning. Seas are forecast to reach 30 feet plus for much of the gulf during the same time period. Widespread gales are a strong possibility for much of the Inner Channels."

[callofthewild]

Wow, this make me think twice about our September cruise in 2022!!

[Ashland]

37 minutes ago, callofthewild said:

Wow, this make me think twice about our September cruise in 2022!!

We'll take our chances for Sept 2022 round trip out of Vancouver.

[Crew News]

25 minutes ago, Ashland said:

We'll take our chances for Sept 2022 round trip out of Vancouver.

Me too.

[Dancing Shoes]

We went mid August in 2018.  Going again in same time 2022.  We lucked out with perfect sunny weather and no rain.  

Call of the Wild.....I am pretty sure September is really late for bear tours.  Check with Island Wings.  Michelle is well known for these tours and she fills up fast.

[kennicott]

My favorite time in Alaska is the last two weeks of August and the first two of September. Been here all my life.

 

On the coast where I was born and raised on Prince William Sound near where it meets the north Pacific it can be wicked at times weather wise, equinox storms sometimes come with a lot of southeast winds. But then, it can be absolutely beautiful as well. As most familiar with Alaska know, weather is a hit or miss. June and July statistically have the best temperature and clear skies, but then on a mosquito year things can be unbearable as well as a hot summer with forest fire smoke everywhere.

 

This year in the Wrangell Mountains, where we spend our summers it has been very good, lots of hot days. But then too, in late June we did have quite a bit of rain and mosquitoes.

 

Now, this fall here in Anchorage, last week the Anchorage hillside had snow. Our daughters home on the 1200 foot level had 11 inches. But down on the flat in mid-town where we live we had none and so did the official observations at the big airport show, no measurable snow. So, officially it has not yet snowed in Anchorage.  Right now, the leaf trees in the city have 90% - 95% of their leaves and a good percentage of them are still dark green. Been slightly below freezing for over a week now at night though, so I expect a few more days of this, then if a good stiff wind comes up they will really start flying around. 

 

In recent years we often didn't see snow in Anchorage until Halloween.

 

 

 

    

[callofthewild]

Kenicott, we loved hearing about your experience living in Alaska.  We realized when we booked our cruise that the weather is unpredictable especially as timing gets into September.  
 

Dancing Shoes, we have already booked our bear excursion with Michelle at Island Wings.  We have gone with her on a previous Alaskan cruise(Misty Fjords) and had a wonderful time.  The bear viewing is something we’ve never done and on our bucket list so hoping it works out for 2022.  
 

Thank you all for your input.  Appreciate hearing what others have experienced.