Turnagain Pass Avalanche Forecast
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Continued snowfall and wind above 2,500′ will keep the avalanche danger at HIGH in the Alpine. Storm snow avalanches are expected again today at these upper elevations. At the mid-mountain elevations, rain falling up to 2,500′ will continue to wash away the snowpack and initiate wet avalanches on steep slopes where enough snow still exists. The avalanche danger remains CONSIDERABLE in the treeline band as avalanches from above may run into these mid-elevations. Travel above treeline is NOT recommended.
Signal Word | Size (D scale) | Simple Descriptor |
Small | 1 | Unlikely to bury a person |
Large | 2 | Can bury a person |
Very Large | 3 | Can destroy a house |
Historic | 4 & 5 | Can destroy part or all of a village |
Today we should see the third pulse in a series of warm storms impact the region. Temperatures climbed to 32F at 2,500′ yesterday, bringing rain as high as 2,200′. Today those numbers are expected to increase. Another 0.5″ of rain up to 2,500′ is forecast with 0.7″ tonight. In the alpine (above 2,500′) an additional 6-8″ of snow should fall today and 8-10″ tonight. Snow will be accompanied with winds in the 30’s and 40’s along the ridgetops from the east.
It is unknown the extent of the avalanche activity yesterday at the upper elevations due to limited visibility, but we did get a photo sent in to us of wet loose avalanches on the west face of Magnum at Turnagain Pass (thank you!). These avalanches were due to rain on snow, which will be expected again today. Obscured in the clouds at the high elevations we are expecting storm snow avalanche activity to continue. The new snow is piling up on a slick hard surface left from last week – which was a hard crust likely topped with surface hoar. This set up should be producing slab avalanches and as soon as the clouds part we’ll be doing our best to take stock.
Storm totals at the mid-elevation snow stations for this soggy storm cycle:
State of the snowpack? Although the snowpack is thickening in the high mountain terrain we are loosing the little snow that was there at the mid-elevations. Before this storm there was roughly 2-3′ of snow depth at 3,300′, that should be close to doubling after today’s snowfall. At 2,200′ and getting higher … bare ground is taking over as rain is washing away the few inches of snow remaining.
Hard to see, but there are wet loose point release avalanches on the west face of Magnum, seen from the Center Ridge trail (Photo: Jacob Swartz).
Temp Avg (F) | Snow (in) | Water (in) | Snow Depth (in) | |
Center Ridge (1880′) | 35 | 3″ wet snow (with some rain) | 1.2 | 15 |
Summit Lake (1400′) | 35 | 1 | 0.3 | 0 |
Alyeska Mid (1700′) | 35 | Rain | 1.9 | 0 |
Temp Avg (F) | Wind Dir | Wind Avg (mph) | Wind Gust (mph) | |
Sunburst (3812′) | 28 | NE | 27 | 75 |
Seattle Ridge (2400′) | 32 | SE | 20 | 57 |
Date | Region | Location | Observer |
---|---|---|---|
01/31/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Johnson Pass area | Megan Guinn / W Wagner Forecaster |
01/29/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Tincan Backdoor | AAS-Level 1 1/27-1/30 |
01/28/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Sunburst | Brooke Edwards |
01/28/23 | Turnagain | Avalanche: Seattle Ridge | W Wagner |
01/28/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Tincan Common | Tony Naciuk |
01/27/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Sunburst | John Sykes |
01/27/23 | Turnagain | Avalanche: Lynx Creek | Megan Guinn / W Wagner |
01/25/23 | Turnagain | Observation: Cornbiscuit | John Sykes Forecaster |
01/22/23 | Turnagain | Avalanche: Tincan | Schauer/ Guinn |
01/21/23 | Turnagain | Avalanche: Seattle Ridge | Elias Holt |
Status of riding areas across the Chugach NF is managed by the Glacier and Seward Ranger Districts, not avalanche center staff. Riding area information is posted as a public service to our users and updated based on snow depth and snow density to prevent resource damage at trailhead locations. Riding area questions contact: mailroom_r10_chugach@fs.fed.us
Area | Status | Weather & Riding Conditions |
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Glacier District |
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This is a general backcountry avalanche advisory issued for Turnagain Arm with Turnagain Pass as the core advisory area. This advisory does not apply to highways, railroads or operating ski areas.