9 January 2026
We have plenty to worry about right now but the people of Juneau, Alaska are probably not thinking about it because they have one big thing to focus on:
SNOW! More than a winter’s worth of snow fell in December alone — 82 inches! — and 49 of those inches fell in just five days. The weight of the snow has sunk boats in the harbor and collapsed roofs. Juneau is running out of places to pile the snow.
RAIN! Today there’s a flood watch and winter weather advisory because it will rain heavily on top of the snow — 1 to 4 inches of rain! — which will cause flooding, landslides and avalanches.
Here’s what it looks like.
video embedded from Accuweather on Instagram
Extreme weather focuses the mind wonderfully.
p.s. The title of this article refers to a quote attributed to Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784
“The prospect of being hanged focuses the mind wonderfully,” attributed to Dr. Samuel Johnson, the quote is probably altered from what he actually said. Apocrypha: The Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page explains:
“This is another popular corruption of a famous line of Johnson’s. What Johnson really said, according to Boswell, was, “Depend upon it, sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” A little clunkier in its original form, even when you drop the first sentence, which is probably why the simpler, corrupted form is frequently seen.”
Wow! How long could you live there? That’s a lot of snow to deal with. The people in the Instagram post seem to have a good attitude about it.
I would be on the first flight out to Hawaii! Aloha!