Seward & Southern Kenai Mtns Archives
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October 16 UPDATE Snow in the higher elevations! Snow is starting to accumulate above 2,500′ but it’s still snow-free and fall-like in valley bottoms. A warm storm on the weekend of Oct 12-13 deposited anywhere from a foot to 3 feet of heavy dense snow in the upper elevations and of course heavy rain in [Read More] | |
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Fall 2024 has arrived! Snow is starting to fall on the high peaks and with that we’d like to announce some upcoming events and early season avalanche reminders. Upcoming Events: Oct 10, 8:00pm- Snow Stories 6.0 – Annual BearTooth Avalanche Center Fundraiser! Get stoked for the winter with the Friends of the Chugach Avalanche Center. The [Read More] | |
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CNFAC is no longer issuing Weekend Avalanche Outlooks for the Seward & Southern Kenai area. Although the forecast season has finished, the avalanche season has not – please see below for some tips on NAVIGATING THE BACKCOUNTRY IN SPRINGTIME. Current conditions? Keep tabs on our Observation Page! We will be posting any observations/reports sent in to us. [Read More] | |
 Wet Loose
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 Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, April 20 – Sunday, April 21 Bottom Line: Spring transition is in full effect and this weekend we could see both wet and dry snow problems. Warm temperatures all weekend and sun on Saturday will make wet loose avalanches likely to occur on steep east, south, and west facing slopes. Roller balls [Read More] | |
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Wet Loose
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, April 13 – Sunday, April 14 Bottom Line: Finally, spring like weather is in store for the Seward area mountains. With a forecast for temperatures in the 30s F in the mountains and sunny skies we expect wet snow avalanches to be the primary concern through the weekend. Look for roller balls [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Wet Loose
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, April 6 – Sunday, April 7 Bottom Line: After receiving 2 to 3 feet of new snow this week and strong winds continuing into the weekend, wind slab avalanches will be the main concern for the next few days. These may be up to 2 feet deep or deeper. The most likely [Read More] | |
 Storm Slabs
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 Wet Slab
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 30 – Sunday, March 31 Bottom Line: A storm has arrived to the Kenai Mountains which is forecast to bring up to 15″ of new snow by Saturday night accompanied by southeast winds making natural avalanches in fresh and windblown snow possible and human triggered avalanches likely above 1,500′. Heavy rain [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Wet Loose
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 23 – Sunday, March 24 Bottom Line: A warm storm over the weekend might create new wind slabs up to 1′ deep that could be easy to trigger in mid to upper elevations. Wet loose avalanches are also possible as warm temperatures and rain will decrease the strength of the [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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 Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 16 – Sunday, March 17 Bottom Line: With a warm spring storm headed towards the Kenai, which is forecast to bring 6 to 10″ of new snow and some wind in the alpine, avalanches in freshly windblown snow are our primary concern this weekend. These avalanches will be larger and more [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 9 – Sunday, March 10 Bottom Line: A storm arriving Saturday night will be creating sensitive wind slabs 1-2′ deep that could be triggered on steep wind loaded slopes. It also possible for a human to trigger an avalanche 1 to 3′ deep on a buried layer of weak snow [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 2 – Sunday, March 3 Bottom Line: The relentless wind is still blowing from the north making avalanches in freshly windblown snow our primary concern this weekend. These avalanches could be 1-2′ deep and large enough to bury a person. The sun is forecast to be out in full force [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Feb. 24 – Sunday, Feb. 25 Bottom Line: This weekend is forecast to bring a small storm on Saturday and a sunny day on Sunday accompanied by northwest wind throughout. Both Saturday and Sunday avalanches 1-2′ deep in freshly windblown snow will be likely for a human to trigger and could be [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Feb. 17 – Sunday, Feb. 18 Bottom Line: The main concern going into this weekend is the potential for triggering an avalanche where the wind is blowing snow into sensitive slabs. A few inches of snow will add a little more slab-building material, increasing the chances of triggering an avalanche. A person [Read More] | |
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Storm Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Feb. 10 – Sunday, Feb. 11 Bottom Line: After a month of cold weather and a few small storms a large storm has arrived to the Kenai Mountains. With 12 to 24″ of new snow and 30 to 40 mph ridgetop winds forecast, we expect dangerous avalanche conditions this weekend. Natural and [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Feb. 3 – Sunday, Feb. 4 Bottom Line: A pattern shift is arriving to the Kenai bringing cloudy skies, warmer temperatures, more wind and a little bit of snow this weekend. With a few inches of new snow and variable winds forecast it will be possible for a machine or person to [Read More] | |
 Normal Caution
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 27 – Sunday, Jan. 28 Bottom Line: Northwesterly winds especially near the coast may be strong enough to transport snow into isolated or small fresh wind slabs. With no new snow these wind slabs would likely form only in places where snow is still available to be transported. Additionally, glide [Read More] | |
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Normal Caution
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 20 – Sunday, Jan. 21 With a mostly sunny and calm weekend in store, triggering an avalanche will be unlikely. However, with new glide cracks noticed in the Seward zone this week we recommend watching for these “brown frowns”, avoiding them when possible, and making a safe travel plan when [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 13 – Sunday, Jan. 14 Bottom Line: The Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend is arriving with another storm bringing mostly wind and a little bit of snow. With 2-6” of new snow and southeast winds forecast from Friday through Sunday morning it will be likely for a person to [Read More] | |
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Storm Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 6 – Sunday, Jan. 7 Bottom Line: With up to 2’ of snow and strong winds forecast this weekend, we expect to see increasing avalanche danger with very dangerous conditions on Sunday. If the forecast verifies, it will be very likely for a person to trigger an avalanche in new [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 30 – Sunday, Dec. 31 Bottom Line: With winds picking Friday night and on Saturday evening, and possibly receiving up to 5” of new snow starting Saturday evening, wind slabs are our main concern for the weekend. These will be more likely and more sensitive at higher elevations, up [Read More] | |
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Storm Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 23- Sunday, Dec. 24 Happy holidays from all of your Chugach forecasters! With up to 1-3 feet of new snow and strong winds forecast, we are expecting to see dangerous avalanche conditions this weekend. If the forecast verifies, natural and human-triggered avalanches are almost certain. We recommend staying out of [Read More] | |
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Storm Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 16- Sunday, Dec. 17 Avalanches concerns this weekend in the Seward, Lost Lake, and Snug Harbor areas are expected to be associated with the new snow that falls on Friday and Saturday. Up to a foot of snow could accumulate by Saturday night at elevations above 1,000′. The snow will [Read More] | |
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Storm Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 9- Sunday, Dec. 10 This is a heads up weekend Seward riders! Our main concerns for avalanches will be both storm slabs and wind slabs. With up to 2 new feet of snow by Sunday morning, which is a large load in a short amount of time, it could be [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 2- Sunday, Dec. 3 Welcome to the first Weekend Outlook for the Seward Zone of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center! We are about 24 hours out from a big storm that dropped 2 feet of snow in the Seward alpine Wednesday and Thursday. There is a lot of new [Read More] | |
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We will be posting weekly conditions reports for the Seward / Southern Kenai Mountains on this page. Check back soon for updates! Last spring the Chugach National Forest’s Seward Ranger District made a commitment to improving avalanche awareness and information for the Kenai Mountains. Over the past 10 years the majority of avalanche accidents on [Read More] |
Below are archived forecasts for the past 5 seasons with the highest danger rating and Avalanche Problem 1 displayed in the chart. Click on a table cell to read the forecast for that day. Alternatively you can view this page for 10 seasons of data plus embedded observations from that day.
