Fri, January 13, 2017 Turnagain Pass Avalanche Forecast

Fri, January 13th, 2017

Alpine

Above 2,500'

3 - Considerable

Treeline

1,000'-2,500'

2 - Moderate

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

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

It’s official – after a two-week dry spell, snow is falling this morning!! Although there’s only been around an inch so far, by this evening we could get up to 8-10″ in favored locations and 4-6″ in un-favored locations. Plus, an additional 4-6″ is possible overnight tonight. It will be one of those days to keep close tabs on how much new snow has fallen and how hard is it snowing. This will directly influence the avalanche hazard. The new snow is falling on a variety of old surfaces, including slick hard wind slabs/crust and soft faceted snow. Despite the myriad of different surfaces, expect bonding of the new snow to initially be poor.

Upper-elevation slopes in the Alpine are likely to be obscured today, but this is the terrain most suspect for receiving enough snow (up to 8+”) along with winds strong enough to form wind slabs that release naturally. If you find yourself in this situation, expert level snowpack assessment is necessary for entering avalanche terrain. Mid-elevation slopes and areas in the trees are more likely to receive less snow (4-6″) and little wind. In this terrain, naturally occurring avalanches are unlikely but human triggered shallow soft slabs and sluffs, the depth of the new snow, may be possible on the steeper slopes.

What to watch for:

How much new snow are you traveling through?
Heavy snowfall, strong winds?
Cracking in the new snow?
Are you traveling under an avalanche path that may be loading with snow above you?

Stepping off the skin track or jumping off your snowmachine to do quick hand pits will be a great tool for sussing out new snow depth and bonding. If skies are clear enough, look for loose snow avalanches in the steep terrain and keep your situational awareness up as the day progresses!

Photo below: An example of the pre-existing snow surface that the new snow is falling on – old hard wind slabs/crusts. Very weak faceted snow sits under these hard slabs and crusts. Once the storm snow bonds with the crust we could see avalanches breaking in the faceted snow beneath (will we get enough of a load for this? a focused question for this weekend).

Additional Concern

Glide Avalanches

Glide Avalanches

Glide Avalanches are the release of the entire snow cover as a result of gliding over the ground. Glide avalanches can be composed of wet, moist, or almost entirely dry snow. They typically occur in very specific paths, where the slope is steep enough and the ground surface is relatively smooth. They are often proceeded by full depth cracks (glide cracks), though the time between the appearance of a crack and an avalanche can vary between seconds and months. Glide avalanches are unlikely to be triggered by a person, are nearly impossible to forecast, and thus pose a hazard that is extremely difficult to manage.

More info at Avalanche.org

Warming temperatures associated with the Southerly flow may enhance glide activity. Glide cracks have been slowing opening this week; though we have not seen/heard of any new cracks releasing. Keep an eye out for cracks, which is difficult with new snow and wind, and limit time underneath them.

Weather

Fri, January 13th, 2017

Yesterday was our last clear sky day with temperatures in the single digits in valley bottoms and the teens-20’s in the upper elevations. Ridgetop winds picked up later in the day from the Southeast to the 10mph range.

Overnight, clouds filled in and light snowfall began around 3-4am. Roughly a trace to an inch is being reported at stations this morning, including snow to sea level. Ridgetop winds have bumped up to 15-20mph with gusts into the 30’s. Temperatures have climbed dramatically at sea level as the inversion has been scoured away (28-30F at sea level, mid-20’s at the mid-elevations and mid-teens at the Ridgetops).

Today, we are expecting anywhere from 4-8+” of new snow and another 4-6″ tonight. Although temperatures have warmed dramatically, we should still see mostly snow to sea level with this event. Ridgetop temperatures will be in the mid-20’s F. Ridgetop winds are likely to increase more today into the 20-40mph range with gusts into the 50’s.

Tomorrow the system looks to move out and skies begin to break up as a cold and dryer North flow heads our way.

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

	Temp Avg (F)	Snow (in)	Water (in)	Snow Depth (in)
Center Ridge (1880′)	21	trace	0	33
Summit Lake (1400′)	10	0	0	11
Alyeska Mid (1700′)	20	0.3	0.1	21

RIDGETOP 24-hour data (6am – 6am)

	Temp Avg (F)	Wind Dir	Wind Avg (mph)	Wind Gust (mph)
Sunburst (3812′)	16	E	9	30
Seattle Ridge (2400′)	17	SE	17	35

Observations

Recent Observations for Turnagain Pass

Date	Region	Location	Observer
10/27/24	Turnagain	Observation: Tincan	Michael Kerst
10/21/24	Turnagain	Observation: Turnagain Pass Road Observation	Trevor Clayton
10/19/24	Turnagain	Observation: Tincan – Below Todds Run	Andy Moderow
10/18/24	Turnagain	Observation: Taylor Pass	Eli Neuffer
10/15/24	Turnagain	Observation: Tincan Common	John Sykes Forecaster
10/14/24	Turnagain	Avalanche: Tincan	CNFAC Staff
05/13/24	Turnagain	Observation: Eddie’s, Sunburst, Seattle, Cornbiscuit, Pete’s South	H Thamm
05/13/24	Turnagain	Observation: Turnagain Pass non-motorized side	Amy Holman
05/12/24	Turnagain	Observation: Warm up Bowl	Tony Naciuk
05/07/24	Turnagain	Observation: Turnagain Pass Wet Slabs	A S

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