Summit & Central 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] | |
 Spring Conditions
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CNFAC is no longer issuing Weekend Avalanche Outlooks for the Summit Lake & Central 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 [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: With warm temperatures, some clearing skies during the day and clouds overnight, we are expecting the chances for wet loose avalanches to increase this weekend. These will be most likely on steep southerly aspects, but as the snowpack heats up we may also see [Read More] | |
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Wet Loose
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, April 13 – Sunday, April 14 Bottom Line: This weekend looks to have partly sunny skies with light winds that could make wet loose avalanches possible on steep sunny slopes. This problem could increase if the snow quickly warms up on the surface and can be avoided by riding sunny slopes [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, April 6 – Sunday, April 7 Bottom Line: This weekend looks to be filled with mostly cloudy skies, breezy ridgetop winds, and possibly a couple inches of new snow. In this case, small wind slabs will be the most likely avalanche issue a person would encounter. Be sure to watch pockets [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 30 – Sunday, March 31 Bottom Line: A storm bringing up to 8″ new snow and strong winds are forecast through Sunday evening. Expect wind slabs up to 1′ deep on Saturday and wind slabs up to 1.5′ deep on Sunday that will be easy for a human to trigger. [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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 Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 23 – Sunday, March 24 Bottom Line: There are a few small storms passing through the Kenai Peninsula this weekend bringing mostly wind a possibly a little bit of snow to Summit Pass. A small avalanche in freshly windblown snow is possible especially in the upper elevations. There is also [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: A storm this weekend will be creating fresh wind slabs 1-1.5′ deep that will be easy for a human to trigger on steep wind loaded slopes. It is also possible to trigger a larger avalanche 1-3′ deep on a buried weak layer of [Read More] | |
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Persistent Slabs
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, March 9 – Sunday, March 10 Bottom Line: This weekend will be one to pay attention to changing weather and the different avalanche conditions that could occur as a result. Ridgetop winds are forecast to pick up on Sunday and if this happens, avalanches in freshly windblown snow could be easy [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: Lingering wind slabs 1 to 2′ deep that formed this week could be triggered on steep wind loaded slopes. There is also a chance to trigger a larger avalanche 1-3′ deep on a buried layer of weak snow in mid to upper elevations. [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: Strong winds starting Saturday afternoon will transport new snow into wind slabs 1 to 2′ deep that will be sensitive enough for a person to trigger. Larger avalanches failing on a buried weak layer 1 to 3′ deep are possible in mid to [Read More] | |
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Persistent Slabs
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Wind Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Feb. 17 – Sunday, Feb. 18 Bottom Line: Dangerous avalanche conditions exist in Summit Lake due to strong winds over the last 4 days and a buried weak layer in the snowpack. These conditions can be found at all elevations and all aspects, and it is likely a person could trigger a [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Feb. 10 – Sunday, Feb. 11 Bottom Line: A storm impacting Summit will produce strong winds and up to 6″ of new snow making it likely to trigger a wind slab avalanche up to 1′ to 2′ deep. It is also possible that storm snow and wind slabs may stress a [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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 Glide Avalanches
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Feb. 3 – Sunday, Feb. 4 Bottom Line: Strong winds and light snow from earlier this week have buried a weak layer of snow that may remain reactive this weekend, making it possible to trigger an avalanche up to 1 to 2′ deep. An approaching storm Saturday evening into Sunday morning [Read More] | |
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Glide Avalanches
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 27 – Sunday, Jan. 28 Frigidly cold temperatures are forecast over the weekend, and although triggering an avalanche is unlikely, glide avalanches are still our main concern. Glide cracks resembling “brown frowns” can release spontaneously as glide avalanches, which can be large and destructive. It is best to avoid traveling [Read More] | |
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Glide Avalanches
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 20 – Sunday, Jan. 21 Bottom Line: A sunny yet chilly weekend is forecast and although triggering an avalanche is unlikely, there are naturally occurring glide avalanches in the area. Glide cracks continue to release all along Summit Pass causing large and destructive avalanches. These avalanches are occurring in a [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Glide Avalanches
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 13 – Sunday, Jan. 14 Bottom Line: Strong easterly winds will increase the likelihood of triggering an avalanche 1-2′ deep where snow has been blown into sensitive slabs. This will make it possible to trigger an avalanche large enough to bury a person. In some areas these wind slabs may [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Jan. 6 – Sunday, Jan. 7 Bottom Line: With stormy weather forecasted to bring strong east winds and 6-10” of new snow by Sunday evening, wind slabs are our main concern over the weekend. These may be up to 1-2’ deep, large enough to bury a human or sled. In some [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 strong east winds and a few inches of new snow forecast this weekend, wind slab avalanches will be our main concern in the upper elevations. If the wind forecast verifies, wind slabs 1- 2’ deep will be likely and easy for a person [Read More] | |
 Storm Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 23 – Sunday, Dec. 24 With 10-20” of new snow expected this weekend, avalanches failing within new and windblown snow will be our main concern. This amount of snow will create dangerous conditions where natural and human triggered avalanches are very likely. Additionally, this storm could trigger a much larger [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 16 – Sunday, Dec. 17 With over 14” of low density snow covering the mountains and wind on the way this weekend, wind slab avalanches will be the main concern. If the winds verify, human-triggered wind slab avalanches will be likely and some slabs could release naturally. Expect these to [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 9 – Sunday, Dec. 10 Wind slab avalanches are our main concern for the weekend. A gusty storm on Thursday night brought 6” of new snow with strong easterly winds. With more snow and wind on the way this weekend, human-triggered avalanches will be likely and some avalanches could release [Read More] | |
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Wind Slabs
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Persistent Slabs
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Weekend Avalanche Outlook Saturday, Dec. 2- Sunday, Dec. 3 Welcome to the first Weekend Outlook for the Summit Lake Zone of the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Center for the 2023-24 season! Wind slab avalanches are our main concern this weekend. With the recent new snow and light to moderate winds through this weekend, they can [Read More] | |
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We will be posting weekly conditions reports for the Summit / Central 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.