Sat, April 18, 2015 Turnagain Pass Avalanche Forecast

Sat, April 18th, 2015

Alpine

Above 2,500'

4 - High

Treeline

1,000'-2,500'

4 - High

Below Treeline

Below 1,000'

2 - Moderate

0 - No Rating

1 - Low

2 - Moderate

3 - Considerable

4 - High

5 - Extreme


Travel Advice	Generally safe avalanche conditions. Watch for unstable snow on isolated terrain features.	Heightened avalanche conditions on specific terrain features. Evaluate snow and terrain carefully; identify features of concern.	Dangerous avalanche conditions. Careful snowpack evaluation, cautious route-finding, and conservative decision-making essential.	Very dangerous avalanche conditions. Travel in avalanche terrain not recommended.	Extraordinarily dangerous avalanche conditions. Avoid all avalanche terrain.
Likelihood of Avalanches	Natural and human-triggered avalanches unlikely.	Natural avalanches unlikely; human-triggered avalanches possible.	Natural avalanches possible; human-triggered avalanches likely.	Natural avalanches likely; human-triggered avalanches very likely.	Natural and human-triggered avalanches certain.
Avalanche Size and Distribution	Small avalanches in isolated areas or extreme terrain.	Small avalanches in specific areas; or large avalanches in isolated areas.	Small avalanches in many areas; or large avalanches in specific areas; or very large avalanches in isolated areas.	Large avalanches in many areas; or very large avalanches in specific areas.	Very large avalanches in many areas.

Avalanche Problem 1

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slabs

Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.

More info at Avalanche.org

It was an exciting day in the mountians yesterday with a very touchy snowpack in the elevation band between 2,000 and 3,000′. There were three known large avalanches that occurred (3-5′ deep). Two were triggered at the same time, but on different aspects, from the corniced ridgeline on Tincan (CFR ridge) and one was a natural avalanche on Magnum’s North face near Taylor Pass. You can see many great photos and some write ups on our observation page HERE.

Deep Persistent Slabs:
The primary concern for today are naturally occurring deep slab avalanches that fail in lower layers of the snowpack. These can be up to 5′ thick or more and propagate across entire slopes and terrain features. With a foot of new snow and strong wind overnight adding load to an already unstable snowpack, it’s a simple equation to stay away from avalanche terrain.

There is a mixed bag of weak layers, crusts and interfaces buried anywhere from 2-4+’ deep in our current snowpack. We are unsure what layer was responsible for yesterday’s slides, but the take home point is: There are weak layers/interfaces that have been slowly loaded during the past 2 weeks of storms which are, clearly, still showing signs of reactivity.

Photos below are of the large slab avalanche on Tincan’s CFR bowl, Southwest facing (left photo: Adam Phillips, right photo: Barkley Blair).

Images below are of the skier triggered slides off both the North and South side of Tincan’s CFR ridgeline. To have deep slab avalanches release on two opposite aspects is very unusual and speaks to our currently very complicated snowpack.

Avalanche Problem 2

Storm Slabs

Storm Slabs

Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

More info at Avalanche.org

Storm snow avalanches associated with just the new snow will be likely but not as large as the deep slab issue mentioned above. Today we can expect wind slabs and storm slabs 1-3′ thick, depending on how much new snow falls. Sluffs should also be expected and could trigger a slab lower on the slope. Cornices will continue to grow and have the ability to fall and trigger large avalanches as well.

Wet Snow Avalanches:
We can also expect wet slab avalanches in the lower elevation band between 1,500′ and 2,500′ due to rising temperatures and a rising rain/snow line today and this afternoon.

Weather

Sat, April 18th, 2015

Partly cloudy skies yesterday morning quickly gave way to wind and light snowfall by the early afternoon. Heavy snow began falling overnight along with strong Easterly ridgetop winds. There has been around a foot of new snow at Turnagain Pass and Girdwood Valley with a rain/snow line ~500. Winds have been wreaking havoc at hourly averages in the 60’s and gusts to 107mph. See the charts below for additional 24-hour data.

Today we can expect a short break in precipitation before another 10-14″ of new snow is forecast to fall later today (~1″ water equivalent) with a rain/snow line rising to possibly 1,500′, and even higher. The gale force ridgetop winds are expected to continue from the East, averaging in the 50-60mph range. Temperatures look to rise to the upper 20’s and possibly 30F on the ridgelines and the upper 30’s at 1.000′.

The pulse of precipitation that moves in later today should remain through tomorrow with periods of heavy snowfall and rain to 1,500′. Monday we could see a break in weather before another round of rain, snow and wind early this coming week.

PRECIPITATION 24-hour data (6am – 6am)

	Temp Avg (F)	Snow (in)	Water (in)	Snow Depth (in)
Center Ridge (1880′)	33	11	1.1	84
Summit Lake (1400′)	35	2	0.2	14
Alyeska Mid (1700′)	32	12	0.95	50

RIDGETOP 24-hour data (6am – 6am)

	Temp Avg (F)	Wind Dir	Wind Avg (mph)	Wind Gust (mph)
Sunburst (3812′)	22	ENE	38	107
Seattle Ridge (2400′)	25	n/a	40	n/a

Observations

Recent Observations for Turnagain Pass

Date	Region	Location	Observer
04/16/24	Turnagain	Observation: Cornbiscuit	Krueger / Matthys Forecaster
04/15/24	Turnagain	Observation: Taylor Pass	John Sykes Forecaster
04/15/24	Turnagain	Observation: Seward Highway – Tern Lake to Portage	Joel Curtis
04/14/24	Turnagain	Observation: Sunburst	T. Olsen-Lund, R. Sullivan I. Adams
04/14/24	Turnagain	Observation: Turnagain Pass Snomo	K. Gallaher
04/13/24	Turnagain	Observation: Spokane Creek	Everet Megli
04/11/24	Turnagain	Observation: Tincan	John Sykes Forecaster
04/10/24	Turnagain	Avalanche: Seattle Ridge	Schauer/ Keeler Forecaster
04/10/24	Turnagain	Observation: Cornbiscuit South Face	Todd Kelsey
04/10/24	Turnagain	Avalanche: Tincan	N. Dumont J. Carlberg

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