Turnagain Pass
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Happy Thanksgiving! Today is day two of the winter storm impacting the forecast area. Avalanche danger is rising across the region. The Chugach National Foreast Avalanche Information Center will issue the first forecast of the season with a danger rating tomorrow morning! Today is a great day to eat turkey with friends and family and stay dry! Here are some precipitation numbers for the past 24hrs. Alyeska Mid Mountain (1700′): 16″ of new snow and 2.12″ of SWE, Turnagain Pass Center Ridge Snotel (1880′): 7″ of new snow, 1.0″ of SWE, Summit Lake Snowtel (1400′): 5″, 0.8 SWE and 1.49″ of SWE in Portage. The forecast for today is for another inch of water (10-20″ of snow) with the snow line around 1500′, maybe creeping up to 2500′ tonight. Easterly winds have been in the 30-40s (mph) gusting as high as 80 yesterday. Winds are forecast to remain strong today into tonight. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for Turnagain Pass. Check out the observation from Tincan yesterday. The winds were already moving snow around and starting to create wind slabs. There is plenty of snow available for transport and as stated before expect avalanche danger to rise as the storm continues. Please have a safe and happy holiday and think cold thoughts, #snowtosealevel!
Snow starting to stiffen and crack around 3 pm yesterday. Tincan 2200′
Wind slab in the snowpit 2500′
If you are heading to Hatcher Pass don’t forget to check hpavalanche.org and their Facebook page.
Special AnnouncementsTuesday, Dec 3rd: Turnagain Pass – Snow, Weather and Avalanches @ Ski AK
6:30pm – 8:00pm. Cost FREE!
Join CNFAIC forecasters for a look under the hood at the avalanche center. We’ll discuss current Turnagain Pass snow and avalanche conditions, how avalanche forecasts are produced and some tips on being your own avalanche forecaster.
