CNFAIC Avalanche Advisory (Turnagain Pass Area)

Thursday, April 15th 2010 Current Advisory (Turnagain Area)

Matt Murphy — 2010-04-20T20:49:00+01:00

Danger Rating: NO RATING
Trend: NO TREND Danger

Good Morning, this is Matt Murphy with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center on Thursday April 15, 2010 at 7am. We are no longer issuing regular avalanche advisories for the rest of the 2009-2010 season, but that does not mean that the avalanche season is done.

First of all, we want to thank you for staying safe in avalanche terrain and helping make this avalanche center an important resource for South Central Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula. Your observations help steer this operation in the right direction. Remember that your information could save a life; so, we want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to everybody that submitted observations this year. We'd also like to thank the Friends of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center and our major funding partners. You are a great group of people with a passion of helping keep people safe in the backcountry, THANK YOU for all your support. Additionally, we want to thank:
-Alyeska Ski Patrol
-Alaska DOT
-Alaska Railroad
-Alaska Avalanche School
-Alaska Pacific University
-Chugach Powder Guides
-and many others
for sharing important avalanche information for us to pass on to the backcountry community.

There are still plenty of weak layers including: pockets of buried surface hoar, sun crusts, a deep rain crust that formed January 7, and facets buried deep in the snowpack. We will see avalanches on these weak layers, especially:
-during the big spring thaw
-during storms
-within 24 hours of storms
-during times of direct sunlight
-rapidly warming temps
-during rain on snow events

Every year, there is a time when the snowpack completely falls apart due to the spring thaw. This could happen any time in the next couple weeks. Many times, this extremely dangerous avalanche cycle starts after 2-3 days of sustained above freezing temps at the ridgetop weather stations during periods of direct sun or intense rain. When that spring thaw happens, we all need to stay away from the mountains till this cycle is done. We will see large destructive avalanches that could fail on deep weak layers during that time.

Thanks for checking avalanche advisories this season. Stay tuned for periodic updates to the photo gallery and snow history. Have a great spring and summer.

Wednesday, April 14th 2010 Current Advisory (Turnagain Area)

Matt Murphy — 2010-04-14T16:35:00+01:00

Danger Rating: Low
Trend: Danger

Good morning backcountry travelers this is Matt Murphy with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center on Wednesday April 14th, 2010 at 7 am. This will serve as a general backcountry avalanche advisory issued for Turnagain Arm with Turnagain Pass as the core advisory area (this advisory does not apply to highways, railroads, or operating ski areas).

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Skookum Valley and Skookum Glacier are closed to motorized vehicles (snowmachines, helicopters, ATVs) except for subsistence uses.. This closure is directed in the current Chugach National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. Placer River Drainage remains open for motorized use to Spencer Glacier.

WEATHER ROUNDUP
-The winds are moderate this morning averaging 16-21mph with some strong gusts up to 31mph down on Seattle Ridge
-The 24 hour snotel sites are reporting:
-0.1 inches of water, 4� of melting/settlement at 1800� at Turnagain Pass
-0.1 inches of water, 3� of melting/settlement 1100� at Grandview
-0.1 inches of water, 2� of melting/settlement at 1400� at Summit Creek.
-This morning�s (5am) radars are full of precip with the majority missing our location and heading east of Cordova
-Temps are starting off about the same this morning at most weather stations as they did yesterday morning. Above freezing temps made it up to 33 degrees at 2600� yesterday. This morning�s temperature range is 33 degrees F at sea-level and 22 degrees F at 3800�.

AVALANCHE DISCUSSION
Today�s avalanche danger is LOW with pockets of MODERATE. Small human-triggered avalanches will be possible on isolated wind slabs sitting on top of a crust with buried surface hoar/facets on top of that crust.

Surface hoar was observed on Tincan, Pastoral, Twin Peaks, and Pete�s North, and Cornbiscuit at the end of last week. On Sunday we found this surface hoar buried and standing up on a small wind lip on Tincan. This small pocket was very reactive to human triggers. Monday, we tried to confirm this same layer of buried surface hoar on Sunburst, but could not find it. We did, however, find facets on top of the most recent sun crust instead of the surface hoar. Recent observations have described this surface hoar as large above 3200� (up to 1cm).

Yesterday's sun pre-cooked a lot of the surface snow. We observed lots of small point release avalanches on sun affected slopes. Only a couple of spots entrained enough snow to become medium sized avalanches. Some new glide crack avalanches were reported in Placer Valley.

The sun is the critical �watch out� situation this time of year. April sun and temps can change the snowpack much more drastically than January or February sun. Avalanche danger can increase quickly during periods of rapidly warming temps and direct sunlight; especially, when the sun hits fresh snow.

Glide cracks are secondary concern today. These crevasse like features are those cracks that go all the way to the ground. Avoid traveling underneath these cracks. Glide cracks and full depth release avalanches have been occurring on warm sunny days. We are seeing more and more of these glide cracks form everyday.

WEATHER FORECAST (National Weather Service)
WESTERN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND-
INCLUDING...WHITTIER...SEWARD...GIRDWOOD...MOOSE PASS
500 AM AKDT WED APR 14 2010

.TODAY...SNOW AND RAIN. SNOW ACCUMULATION 1 TO 4 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE
30S TO NEAR 40. SOUTH TO EAST WINDS 10 T0 20 MPH.
.TONIGHT...SNOW IN THE EVENING...THEN A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS AFTER
MIDNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S TO
LOWER 30S. LIGHT WINDS EXCEPT SOUTH 15 MPH NEAR SEWARD IN THE
EVENING.
.THURSDAY...SKIES BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN
THE MORNING. HIGHS AROUND 40. LIGHT WINDS EXCEPT WEST 10 TO 15 MPH
NEAR WHITTIER.

TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
SEWARD 41 28 42 / 100 70 0
GIRDWOOD 40 26 40 / 100 90 20

Short Term Weather Model Forecasts (NAM, WRF, GFS) for the Kenai Mountains near Turnagain Pass
Sea-level: temps are forecasted between 26-40 and between 0.1-0.25� of water forecasted
3000�: temps are forecasted in the range of 23-32 degrees F with winds 5-10 mph
6000�: temps are forecasted in the range of 14-23 degrees F with winds 5-10 mph

WEATHER STATION SUMMARY for last 24 hours at TURNAGAIN PASS
3800�-Sunburst Wx Station
Temp (5am): 22 (same as yesterday morning)
Winds: In last 24 hours winds have been light-moderate averaging 6-20mph with a strong max gust of 37mph
HIGH TEMP of 29 at 1pm

2600�-Seattle Ridge Wx Station
Temp (5am): 25 (same as yesterday morning)
Winds: In last 24 hours have been light to moderate averaging 5-21 mph with a strong max gust of 31mph
HIGH TEMP of 33 between 4-5pm

1800�-Center Ridge Wx Station
Temp (5am): 29 (1 degrees warmer than yesterday morning)
Precip: 0.1 inches of water, 4 inches melting/settlement
HIGH TEMP 43 between 4-6pm

Thanks for checking today�s avalanche advisory. The next one will be posted tomorrow Thursday April 15th, 2010.

Tuesday, April 13th 2010 Current Advisory (Turnagain Area)

Matt Murphy — 2010-04-13T17:02:00+01:00

Danger Rating: Moderate
Trend: Danger

Good morning backcountry travelers this is Matt Murphy with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center on Tuesday April 13th, 2010 at 7 am. This will serve as a general backcountry avalanche advisory issued for Turnagain Arm with Turnagain Pass as the core advisory area (this advisory does not apply to highways, railroads, or operating ski areas).

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Skookum Valley and Skookum Glacier are closed to motorized vehicles (snowmachines, helicopters, ATVs) except for subsistence uses.. This closure is directed in the current Chugach National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. Placer River Drainage remains open for motorized use to Spencer Glacier.

WEATHER ROUNDUP
-The winds are strong to our south at Summit Lake, but light to moderate otherwise this morning averaging 2-26 mph with some extreme gusts up to 47mph down at Fresno Ridge
-The 24 hour snotel sites are reporting:
-0.2 inches of water, 3-4inches of new snow, and 3� of melting/settlement at 1800� at Turnagain Pass
-0.3 inches of water, 2 inches of new snow, and 4� of melting/settlement 1100� at Grandview
-0.3 inches of water, 3 inches of new snow, and 0 inches of melting/settlement at 1400� at Summit Creek.
-This morning�s (5am) radars show lots of precip hitting eastern PWS between Cordova and Valdez
-Temps are starting off about the same this morning at most weather stations as they did yesterday morning. Above freezing temps made it up to 40 degrees at 1800� yesterday. This morning�s temperature range is 33 degrees F at sea-level and 22 degrees F at 3800�.

AVALANCHE DISCUSSION
Today�s avalanche danger will start out as MODERATE, but could rapidly increase to CONSIDERABLE on any sunny slopes IF the sun comes out like the NWS is forecasting. There should be small to medium sized wind slabs sitting on top of buried surface hoar on top of a sun crust in many places, especially up high in the starting zones.

The primary snowpack concerns today are: recently formed winds slabs sitting on top of a sun crust with buried surface hoar and/or facets on top of that crust. Small to medium human-triggered avalanches are possible on these pockets of instability, and natural avalanches will become possible IF the sun comes out. Recent natural slab avalanches triggered during sunny days have occurred as early as 11am on SE aspects over the past couple of weeks. The warmest ambient air temps yesterday were recorded between 12-3pm.

Before the new precip starting falling Saturday night, surface hoar was observed on Tincan, Pastoral, Twin Peaks, and Pete�s North, and Cornbiscuit. On Sunday we found this surface hoar buried and standing up on a small wind lip on Tincan. This small pocket was very reactive to human triggers. Yesterday, we tried to confirm this same layer of buried surface hoar on Sunburst, but could not find it. We did, however, find facets on top of the most recent sun crust instead of the surface hoar. Recent observations have described this surface hoar as large above 3200� (up to 1cm).

Even though it has not been actually observed except for on Tincan, it�s a pretty good guess that there will be pockets of buried surface hoar that have survived the recent ridgetop winds. There has not been very much precip lately, but the wind has been moving some enough snow around for some isolated wind slabs.

The sun is the critical �watch out� situation this time of year. April sun and temps can change the snowpack much more drastically than January or February sun. Avalanche danger can increase rapidly during periods rapidly warming temps and direct sunlight especially when the sun hits fresh snow like we have right now.

Glide cracks are secondary concern today. These crevasse like features are those cracks that go all the way to the ground. Avoid traveling underneath these cracks. Glide cracks and full depth release avalanches have been occurring on warm sunny days. We are seeing more and more of these glide cracks form everyday.

WEATHER FORECAST (National Weather Service)
WESTERN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND-
INCLUDING...WHITTIER...SEWARD...GIRDWOOD...MOOSE PASS
500 AM AKDT TUE APR 13 2010
.TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS
EARLY THIS MORNING...THEN BECOMING MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 40.
SOUTH TO WEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.
.TONIGHT...INCREASING CLOUDS WITH SNOW DEVELOPING AFTER MIDNIGHT.
SNOW ACCUMULATION 1 TO 3 INCHES. LOWS IN THE MID 20S TO LOWER 30S.
VARIABLE WIND TO 10 MPH.
.WEDNESDAY...SNOW AND RAIN. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 2 INCHES.
HIGHS IN THE 30S. VARIABLE WIND TO 10 MPH.

TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION
SEWARD 39 32 37 / 0 80 80
GIRDWOOD 38 31 37 / 30 80 80

Short Term Weather Model Forecasts (NAM, WRF, GFS) for the Kenai Mountains near Turnagain Pass
Sea-level: temps are forecasted between 31-38 and between 0.0-0.05� of water forecasted
3000�: temps are forecasted in the range of 23-32 degrees F with winds 10-20 mph
6000�: temps are forecasted in the range of 14-23 degrees F with winds 20-30 mph

WEATHER STATION SUMMARY for last 24 hours at TURNAGAIN PASS
3800�-Sunburst Wx Station
Temp (5am): 22 (2 degrees colder than yesterday morning)
Winds: In last 24 hours winds have been light-moderate averaging 10-25mph with an extreme max gust of 42mph
HIGH TEMP of 23 between 12-5pm

2600�-Seattle Ridge Wx Station
Temp (5am): 25 (one degree warmer than yesterday morning)
Winds: In last 24 hours have been light to strong averaging 2-32mph with an extreme gust of 48mph
HIGH TEMP of 26 between 11am-4pm

1800�-Center Ridge Wx Station
Temp (5am): 28 (1 degrees colder than yesterday morning)
Precip: 0.2 inches of water, 3-4 inches of new snow
HIGH TEMP 40 at 11am

Thanks for checking today�s avalanche advisory. The next one will be posted tomorrow Wednesday April 14th, 2010.

Monday, April 12th 2010 Current Advisory (Turnagain Area)

Lisa Portune — 2010-04-12T16:51:00+01:00

Danger Rating: Moderate
Trend: NO TREND Danger

Good morning backcountry travelers this is Lisa Portune with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center on Monday, April 12th at 7am. This will serve as a general backcountry avalanche advisory issued for Turnagain Arm with Turnagain Pass as the core advisory area (this advisory does not apply to highways, railroads, or operating ski areas).

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Skookum Valley and Skookum Glacier are closed to motorized vehicles (snowmachines, helicopters, ATVs) except for subsistence uses. This closure is directed in the current Chugach National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. Placer River Drainage remains open for motorized use to Spencer Glacier.

WEATHER ROUNDUP
2-4 inches of new snow fell in the last 24 hours in Turnagain Pass. Ridgetop winds averaged 20-30mph out of the east yesterday while mountain temperatures warmed up to the low 20�s at the upper elevations and mid 30�s at the middle elevations. Looking out my window at 4am this morning, I see partial clearing through the thick clouds. The winds decreased a bit last night and are currently averaging 15mph on Sunburst and 20mph on Seattle Ridge while temperatures this morning range from 21F@3800� to 29F@1800� to 35F@sealevel. We may squeeze a few more inches of snow out of this system today before the next low moves in tonight. Ridgetop winds will be moderate to strong today, averaging 15-30mph out of the east, while mountain temperatures will be a carbon copy of yesterday.

AVALANCHE DISCUSSION
Today the avalanche danger remains at MODERATE overall with areas of CONSIDERABLE hazard on windloaded slopes greater than 35 degrees. Newly formed windslabs up to 2 feet deep will be very sensitive to human triggers today. Shallow long-running sluffs are also likely on steep slopes not affected by the wind. Yesterday�s new and wind-driven snow buried a recently formed layer of surface hoar in addition to a slick suncrust on E-S-W aspects. Long running fractures are possible on the buried surface hoar. An outside chance also remains of triggering a deeper slab avalanche in thin, rocky starting zones in the upper elevations. If we see the strong springtime sun today, expect almost instant wet sluffs possibly triggering slab avalanches on steep southerly slopes.

Wind was definitely the big player yesterday. Even though 2-4 inches is not much new snow, there was plenty of existing powder to move around. Yesterday Matt, Adam, and I easily triggered new windslabs 6-18 inches deep and 20-60 feet wide on Tincan once we got into the higher elevation wind-affected terrain above treeline. The avalanches were running on a sizeable layer of surface hoar that formed this past Thursday and Friday. The feathery crystals range in size from � inch at 2500 feet to � inch at 4300 feet, and on E-S-W aspects the surface hoar is sitting on a suncrust, an especially dangerous combination. On a steep non-wind-affected northwest facing slope at 2000 feet we triggered shallow sluffs that ran 100 feet on the recent surface hoar layer. I would tread very lightly today and stay off of big open windloaded slopes.

Before this latest storm, one of our observers reported intentionally ski-cutting several recently formed windslabs in the north-facing chutes on Pete�s North on Friday. The largest one ran 900 feet and was 40 feet wide by 1.5 feet deep. On Saturday, a skier triggered a small avalanche on Todd�s Run on the north side of Tincan that knocked him over but did not bury him. On Saturday Jon and I toured up Cornbiscuit and found an old layer of buried surface hoar 1.5 feet deep in one of the north facing chutes at 3200 feet. We got full propagation across the column during 3 separate Extended Column Tests (ECTP12,15,27), so we backed off of riding that enticing line. On the flipside, many steep north facing lines were skied this past week with no problems. Like we said before, the numerous layers of buried surface hoar that formed last month are highly variable in their distribution and sensitivity over aspect and elevation. Always make sure to dig down and evaluate each individual slope before committing to a line.

Six glide cracks avalanched this past week, three on Saturday. Everywhere I look there seems to be a new glide crack forming. Lucky for us, these things are easily avoidable. They have their own agenda so stay out from under them.

Matt will issue the next advisory tomorrow morning at 7am. This is my last advisory of the season. Thanks everyone for a great winter and see you next year.

The NWS weather forecast for:
WESTERN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND-
INCLUDING...WHITTIER...SEWARD...GIRDWOOD...MOOSE PASS
500 AM AKDT MON APR 12 2010

.TODAY...RAIN AND SNOW LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN RAIN LIKELY
IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH. HIGHS AROUND 40.
SOUTH TO EAST WIND 10 TO 25 MPH EXCEPT SOUTHEAST 20 TO 35 MPH
THROUGH PORTAGE VALLEY AND TURNAGAIN ARM.
.TONIGHT...RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION
UP TO 3 INCHES. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S TO MID 30S. SOUTH TO EAST
WIND 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH THROUGH PORTAGE
VALLEY AND TURNAGAIN ARM...BECOMING SOUTH TO WEST 15 TO 30 MPH
AFTER MIDNIGHT.
.TUESDAY...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS IN THE
MORNING...THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN AND
SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS AROUND 40. SOUTH TO WEST
WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION

SEWARD 40 32 40 / 70 100 20
GIRDWOOD 38 31 38 / 60 100 30

WEATHER STATION SUMMARY for Turnagain Pass:
-3800� Sunburst Wx Station-
recorded moderate to strong easterly winds yesterday averaging 20-30mph with gusts to 51mph. The high temp yesterday was 22F at 1pm. The current temp is 21F with winds averaging 15mph out of the east.

-2600� Seattle Ridge Wx Station-
recorded moderate to strong southeasterly winds yesterday averaging 20-30mph with gusts to 44mph. The high temp yesterday was 25F. The current temp is 24F with winds averaging 20mph out of the southeast.

-1800� Center Ridge Wx Station-
recorded 1 inch of new snow and 0.1 inches of water in the last 24 hours. The high temp yesterday was 38F at 2pm. The current temp is 29F with a total snowpack depth of 142 inches.

Sunday, April 11th 2010 Current Advisory (Turnagain Area)

Lisa Portune — 2010-04-11T16:51:00+01:00

Danger Rating: Moderate
Trend: Increasing Danger

Good morning backcountry travelers this is Lisa Portune with the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center on Sunday, April 11th at 7am. This will serve as a general backcountry avalanche advisory issued for Turnagain Arm with Turnagain Pass as the core advisory area (this advisory does not apply to highways, railroads, or operating ski areas).

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Skookum Valley and Skookum Glacier are closed to motorized vehicles (snowmachines, helicopters, ATVs) except for subsistence uses. This closure is directed in the current Chugach National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. Placer River Drainage remains open for motorized use to Spencer Glacier.

WEATHER ROUNDUP
No new snow fell in the last 24 hours in Turnagain Pass. Under greybird skies yesterday, southeasterly ridgetop winds averaged 5-10mph on Sunburst and 15-20mph on Seattle Ridge. Mountain temperatures warmed up yesterday to the high 20�s at the upper elevations and 40F at the mid elevations. It is currently snowing lightly at sea level in Girdwood as of 4am this morning. The winds increased a bit last night and are currently averaging 15mph on Sunburst and 20mph on Seattle Ridge while temperatures this morning range from 20F@3800� to 29F@1800� to 35F@sealevel. The front associated with a large stacked low will bring widespread precip to our area today. We could get anywhere from 6-13 inches of new snow today and tonight at the higher elevations with a rain/snow mix at sealevel. Ridgetop winds will be moderate to strong today, averaging 15-30mph out of the east, while mountain temperatures will warm up to the mid 20�s to low 30�s.

AVALANCHE DISCUSSION
Today the avalanche danger is rated MODERATE overall with pockets of CONSIDERABLE hazard developing later today on steep windloaded slopes greater than 35 degrees. If this storm comes in with a bit more punch, you will likely trigger new snow sluffs and shallow windslabs on steep slopes by this afternoon. Natural avalanches will also be possible on any actively loading slopes above treeline as well. Today�s new and wind-transported snow will bury a recently formed layer of surface hoar in addition to a slick suncrust on E-S-W aspects. An outside chance also remains of triggering a deeper slab avalanche in thin, rocky starting zones in the upper elevations.

Today�s new snow will bury a sizeable layer of surface hoar that formed this past Thursday and Friday. The crystals grew larger at the higher elevations, ranging from � inch at 2500 feet to � inch at 4300 feet. On E-S-W aspects the surface hoar is sitting on a suncrust, an especially dicey combination. Jon and I noticed that yesterday�s high overcast skies kept the surface hoar from melting on southerly aspects.

No human-triggered avalanches were reported yesterday. One of our regular observers reported intentionally ski-cutting several recently formed windslabs in the north-facing chutes on Pete�s North on Friday. The largest one ran 900 feet and was 40 feet wide by 1.5 feet deep. Another one of our regular observers reported finding 2 separate layers of buried surface hoar 3 ft. and 4 ft. down in the snowpack on a northeast aspect of Pastoral at 4400 feet. Compression tests showed that the layers had lost their reactivity on that particular slope (CTH25,28,29,30++,all Q2�s). Yesterday Jon and I toured up KoRnbiscuit and found a layer of buried surface hoar 1.5 feet deep in one of the north facing chutes at 3200 feet. We got full propagation across the column during 3 separate Extended Column Tests (ECTP12,15,27), so we backed off of riding that enticing line. On the flipside, many steep north facing lines were skied the last few days with no problems. Like we said before, the numerous layers of buried surface hoar that formed last month are highly variable in their distribution and sensitivity over aspect and elevation. Make sure to dig down and evaluate each individual slope before committing to a line.

Three glide cracks avalanched yesterday: a large one on the south face of Eddies (see photo below), one on the south side of Shark Fin, and one on a west facing slope in the Skookum Valley. That makes six glide cracks that have avalanched this past week. Everywhere I look there seems to be a new glide crack forming. Lucky for us, these things are easily avoidable. They have their own agenda so stay out from under them.

I will issue the next advisory tomorrow morning at 7am. If you get out in the backcountry give us a call at 754-2369 or send us your observations using the button at the top of this page. Thanks and have a great day.

The NWS weather forecast for:
WESTERN PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND-
INCLUDING...WHITTIER...SEWARD...GIRDWOOD...MOOSE PASS
500 AM AKDT SUN APR 11 2010

.TODAY...SNOW...MIXING WITH OR CHANGING TO RAIN NEAR SEA LEVEL.
SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 4 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE 30S. SOUTH TO EAST
WIND 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH THROUGH PORTAGE VALLEY
AND TURNAGAIN ARM.
.TONIGHT...RAIN AND SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 4 INCHES.
LOWS IN THE 30S. SOUTH TO EAST WIND 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS
TO 40 MPH THROUGH PORTAGE VALLEY AND TURNAGAIN ARM...DECREASING
TO 10 TO 20 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.
.MONDAY...SNOW AND RAIN LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN A SLIGHT
CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW ACCUMULATION
UP TO 1 INCH. HIGHS AROUND 40. VARIABLE WIND 10 MPH EXCEPT
SOUTHEAST 15 TO 25 MPH THROUGH PORTAGE VALLEY AND TURNAGAIN ARM.

TEMPERATURE / PRECIPITATION

SEWARD 38 33 41 / 100 100 50
GIRDWOOD 37 32 40 / 100 100 80

WEATHER STATION SUMMARY for Turnagain Pass:
-3800� Sunburst Wx Station-
recorded light southeasterly winds yesterday averaging 5-10mph. The high temp yesterday was 27F at 3pm. The current temp is 20F with winds averaging 15mph out of the east.

-2600� Seattle Ridge Wx Station-
recorded moderate southeasterly winds yesterday averaging 15-20mph with gusts to 28mph. The high temp yesterday was 26F at 1pm. The current temp is 24F with winds averaging 20mph out of the southeast.

-1800� Center Ridge Wx Station-
recorded no new snow in the last 24 hours. The high temp yesterday was 39F at 1pm. The current temp is 29F with a total snowpack depth of 141 inches (2 inches of settlement/melting in the last 24 hours).