Copper River Basin storm history

A Snowmachiner got caught in an avalanche near Paxson Monday April 11 around 12:10 PM AKDT. He was found buried beneath 5 to 7 feet of snow.

A person riding a snow mobile in a remote area was caught in an avalanche and perished. The area was only accessible by helicopter or snow mobile.

Three people were buried by an avalanche while snowmachining on an unsupported cornice. One was dug out of the snow by her husband.

Another avalanche death, 6 miles east of the Richardson Monument at Mile 198 of the Richardson Highway (about 70 miles south of Delta Junction), was reported in Monday's Anchorage Daily News. The avalanche occurred about 3 pm Sunday, March 18, 2001.A group of snowmachiners were o…

Snow machiner was buried by an avalanche Saturday. Alaska State Troopers said that the same snowmachiner had been caught in an avalanche earlier in the day while trying to highmark in the bowl. The body was found Sunday morning, using trained dogs and avalanche probes, under abou…

A slow moving slab avalanche swept Canadian mountaineer off a 20 to 30 degree slope and over a 1,000 to 1,500 foot drop. Slab apparently let go about 7 am Thursday, and was about 100 feet wide and 3 feet deep. Temperature at the time at altitude was about 5 degrees Fahrenheit and…

Odman Schmalzried, 40, of Wasilla, and friends were snowmachining in the Chugach Mountains south of Eureka Lodge Saturday afternoon, when an avalanche buried him and his snow machine. His body and the snow machine were found Sunday.

Odman Schmalzried, 40, of Wasilla was buried by an avalanche in a remote valley in the Chugach Mountains south of Eureka Lodge Saturday afternoon.

The Gulkana River at the Richardson Highway pushed up past flood levels the morning of May 25th and reached a crest on May 30th around midnight of 12.13 ft. Moderate flood level for this gauge is 10.5 ft. The river observer at Gulkana reported on May 25th: Ice run last night floo…

The GRSA2 river Gauge reported flood conditions beginning the afternoon of May 24 and persisting to the end of the month. Flood stage is 12 ft and the crest was on May 30th at 14.64 ft. This level ties for the second highest crest on record for this gauge. The BLM campground at S…

The Alaska Department of Transportation 511 site reported Very Difficult driving conditions near Paxson and along Isabel Pass due to reduced visibility, strong winds, blowing snow, and drifting snow at 3:00 AM AKST January 29th. Isabel Pass was closed by the Department of Transpo…

Borderline Red Flag Warning criteria was met at the Gulkana ASOS from around 4 pm to 8 pm AKDT. Temperatues hovered near 75 degrees Fahrenheit with sustained northerly winds of 13 to 16 mph with a peak gust of 25 mph. Relative humidity ranged from 25% to 29% during this same time…

Warming temperatures caused dense snowpack above the town of Glennallen to rapidly melt sending a large volume of water into the town of Glennallen. A flood watch was issued as early as April 28, with the advisory covering the more severe flooding from the snowmelt. By May 2, the…

DOT reported up to 7 inches of snow on the Richardson Hwy between mileposts 42 and 82 at 0845 January 28th. Additionally, travel was severely hampered for the duration of the snow event as areas along the Richardson Hwy, including Thompson Pass, were closed due to heavy snow. Add…

From AK 511 (DOT) reported that the Richardson Hwy from MP 30 to MP 42 as of 6:56AM 12/11/23 had very difficult travel conditions with blowing and drifting snow, icy patches and packed snow on roadways. The DOT warned of possible road closure with travel not advised. Snow of 6 to…

Alaska DOT reported black ice and icy roads along the Richardson Highway south of Kenny Lake on November 23 and 24. Conditions were classed as Hazardous on November 24. The Gulkana ASOS also reported unknown precipitation at 31 degrees on the morning of November 24, indicating li…

The Richardson Highway was closed around 2 PM from Thompson Pass north due to 'hazardous' road conditions and very heavy snowfall with the D.O.T reporting 72 inches of storm total snowfall.

The Alaska Department of Transportation reported at 4:50 AKST that up to 11 inches of snow had fallen overnight along portions of the Edgerton Highway near Kenny Lake.

On the morning of 10/6, NWS Anchorage made calls out to the Tazlina Department of Transportation and Edgerton Department of Transportation to assess conditions after a prolonged period of mixed precipitation. Both locations reported that freezing rain started around 2 pm AKST on …

Alaska Department of Transportation reported between 4 and 8 inches of new snow accumulation on the Richardson Highway between Paxson and Isabel Pass at around 6 PM 10/2 along with reduced visibility and winds up to 30 mph blowing out of the pass. Webcam images from the area also…

The Global Lightning Detection Network and daily lightning summary from the Alaska Inter-agency Coordination Center and Bureau of Land Management showed numerous lightning strikes across much of the Copper River Basin during the afternoon and evening of 7/24. This lightning occur…

Borderline Red Flag conditions at the Gulkana ASOS began at 2:53 pm AKST and continued through 6:00 pm AKST. Temperatures ranged from 70 to 72 Fahrenheit. South winds ranged from 10 to 17 mph with a peak gust of 24 mph. Relative humidity ranged from 18 to 22%. A few other nearby …

Late season snow in the Moose Creek Basin rapidly melted at the beginning of June 2023 causing another episode of flooding in the Glennallen area. While not as severe as the May flood event, the June event flooded the Glennallen Library and closed Glenn Highway due to highwater.

Numerous reports of accumulating snowfall were relayed by the Alaska Department of Transportation, most of which fell from about 11 PM 5/30 to the early morning hours of 5/31. Around 6 inches fell over Glennallen, with mostly 1-2 inches of slush reported farther south and west. H…

Snowmelt flooding pushed the Gulkana River to moderate flood levels on May 21-22, 2023. Flooding of lowland areas and impacts to locations such as the Sourdough Campground led to flood advisory issuance. Richardson Highway was surrounded by high water and travelers in the region …

Department of Transportation reported rapid snowmelt is occurring, and is causing minor flooding with water over portions of the Old Edgerton Highway near the Richardson Highway.

Snowmelt flooding pushed Moose Creek into flood across Glennallen, AK. The flood inundated the town of Glennallen, flooding homes, businesses and Glenn Highway at MP 185, forcing it to close. Flooding was extensive and a disaster declaration was declared for Glennallen on May 13,…

DOT reported 10 inches new snow in Tonsina. Meanwhile, the 511 webpage noted very difficult road conditions from MM 42 to 82 along the Richardson Hwy due to heavy snow, wind, blowing snow, drifting snow, icy patches, and reduced visibility.

A member of the public estimated that 6 inches of snow fell near Willow Lake. Several other estimates around 4-5 inches south of Glenallen along the Edgerton Highway, as well as near Eureka. Snow began on the morning of March 1 and largely ended by the evening hours. Some upslope…

Alaska Department of Transportation reported a myriad of mixed precipitation starting out as snow, then mostly transitioning to rain as warm air above freezing filtered into valleys across the Copper River Basin from the south with time between 1/24 and 1/25. Most locations did n…

Wind chills below -40F were observed through passes around the periphery of the Copper River Basin, where cold, dense air from the Interior became channeled and increased winds. Within the basin itself, winds remained much calmer. An Alaska Department of Transportation observing …

A third wave of heavy snow hit southcentral Alaska within an 11-day period in early December. This snowfall was produced as a tropical moisture plume spread northward and combined with an upper-level disturbance transitioning across the state. The bulk of the snowfall arrived lat…

Heavy snow occurred on December 11 through 12 resulting in 1 to 2.5 feet of snow across the western portion of the Copper River Basin. The verifying observation was reported by trained spotter in Chickaloon, with 30 inches measured within a 24 hour period.

The first confirmation of freezing rain, which was the primary concern across most of the Copper River Basin for the event, came from the Gulkana ASOS reporting freezing rain beginning 8 AM AKST October 15th. A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain was reported across much of the …

Multiple Alaska 511 (Department of Transportation) reports of Very Difficult status for highways in the Copper River Basin during and towards the end of heavy snowfall, mainly on October 12th. A road closure was required at one point due to a multi-vehicle accident near Tolsona. …

Alaska 511 at the Richardson highway mile post 148 to mile post 184 reported very difficult road conditions, blowing and drifting snow, ice glaze, icy patches, packed snow, rough icy patches, snow on roadway, visibility reduced, resuspended snow as well. This was on the March 10t…

Richardson Highway from mile post 184 to mile post 203 - Surface conditions: Deep snow, Drifting snow, Packed snow, Road surface in poor condition, Snow on roadway, Heavy Drifting, Visibility reduced, resuspended snow dust. Atmospheric Conditions: Heavy snow, Poor visibility, Sno…

Rich Highway milepost 150 reported between 8 and 12 inches of snow. Alaska 511 showed Tok Cutoff Milepost 30 reported between 8 and 12 inches of snow. Alaska 511 showed Isabel Pass closed for snow slide; Public in Glennallen reported 1.4 inches and CoCoRAHS 3.2 miles northeast of…

Ernestine DOT Camp reported 6 to 8 inches on the north end and 5 inches on the south end.

Department of Transportation in Chitina reported 9 inches of snow.

Department of Transportation reported 14 inches of snow near mile 46 with 10 inches of snow at one of the park services in Valdez. Department of Transportation also reported 6 inches of snow at Ernestine Camp itself near mile 62.

Extreme whiteout conditions were reported by DOT on the Richardson Hwy from MP 180 to MP 210, especially near Summit Lake. This was due to the strong winds lifting snow off the ground and creating ground blizzard conditions.

Alaska 511 road reported icy glaze around 530 am the morning of the 26th of December on the Richardson Highway at mileposts 148 to 184. An employee with the department of Highways reported freezing rain from approximately 8:30-9:30 AM the morning of the 26th of December with temp…

One of the people associated with the Department of Highways called the office to report 8 inches of new snow in Thompson Pass in the Copper River Basin.

Webcams through the FAA showed fairly low visibilities through Thompson Pass as a result of the falling snow and strong gusty winds. Conditions remained unchanged for hours resulting in treacherous and dangerous travel conditions through Thompson Pass from the afternoon of the 19…

Generally light snowfall fell over a three day period across the Copper River Basin with a weak low pressure system. The Edgerton Cutoff (road to Chitna), had 14 on the ground by the night of the 20th. Most of the estimated 4 that fell on the 20th at Thompson Pass was blown into …

AK DOT at Ernestine Camp reported 16 inches of snowfall and widespread difficult driving conditions.

Alaska DOT reported rain and black ice from the Edgerton Highway turn off to Kenny Lake. They also reported 4 inches of new snow along the Richardson Highway between milepost 82 and Paxson.

Eureka Lodge reported 14 inches of snowfall in 24 hours.