Some important notes about the Haines Precipitation Tracker:

This page provides raw data from a variety of weather stations installed across the Haines borough. You should note that the data has not been quality controlled, and can sometimes contain errors, though it is generally reliable, subject to the notes below. This data is provided for informational purposes only. The Alaska Avalanche Information Center cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data provided here. Use it at your own risk.

Some Notes / FAQ's:

• Some gauges (Ripinsky and Riley especially) are slower to report, and can be up to 2 hours behind the data from the other gauges. Keep this in mind if heavy rain is currently falling.
• Where were the record precipitation values from 2020 and 2005 measured? These came from either the Airport station or the Haines Co-Op observer in downtown Haines, depending on the period. They represent the highest values measured at any one time during that storm. Note that from those past storms, we didn't have good data from Mt. Riley, Ripinsky, or any other areas.
• The only *heated* rain gauges in Haines are at the Airport and on Mt. Riley. During times of below-freezing weather, they are the only gauges that offer an accurate view of precipitation.
• Why does it generally rain less at the Airport and at Lutak? These are well known drier microclimates in our area. Precipitation at the airport is often 20 - 50% less than that recorded in town. For this reason, the airport data is not very representative of impactful precipitation in town.
• The Mount Riley gauge has consistently reported less precipitation than the other gauges nearby. Is this because it is raining less on top of Riley than it is on Beach road? We can't answer that question for sure, but we suspect that the gauge on Riley tends to under-report rainfall due to wind effects on top of the mountain. If anything, we suspect it should be raining *more* on Riley than on Beach road.
• Why does it sometimes rain so much more on Mt. Ripinsky? Steep mountain slopes can easily double or even triple the amount of rain that falls on the mountain, as rising air is lifted over the slopes. This is important because in warmer months, the rain that falls over the mountain runs off towards Cathedral View, Piedad, and Lutak, and contributes to groundwater pressure at the base of the mountain.
• It rained a lot on Mt. Ripinsky, but not so much in town...should I be worried? We don't know how much rain needs to fall on the mountain to cause issues like flooding, landslides, and debris flows/erosion on the slopes below. All this page can do is provide the raw data and inform you to make your own decisions.
• Can a one-to-one comparison be made between the Mt. Ripinsky rainfall data and the record precipitation values from 2020 and 2005 (which were measured in town, not on Ripinsky)? This is a tricky one. In December 2020, most of the precipitation that fell on Ripinsky was in the form of snow. Also, much of the rain that did fall up there above 2500ft was absorbed by the snowpack. So in general, the storm could have been far worse if snow levels were higher and more rain fell over Ripinsky instead of snow. For this reason, the current rainfall amounts over Ripinsky are highly relevant. But remember that it can easily rain twice as much up there as in town, so you should expect higher values over Ripinsky than compared to the 2020 and 2005 events. We can't say exactly how much higher they should be.