Western Prince William Sound storm history

The Alaska Department of Transportation closed Thompson Pass from Milepost 12 to Milepost 46 at 8:00 AM AKST January 26th due to avalanche danger and inclement weather. The Department of Transportation 511 website reported Very Difficult road conditions the same day.

Blizzard conditions occurred in Whittier (WMHA2) between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM AKST on January 12th. Winds gusted to over 60 mph with visibility dropping to a quarter of a mile during this timeframe until the weather sensor failed. There were also reports of heavy snow and winds a…

A SNOTEL in Turnagain Pass reported snowfall rates of more than 2 inches per hour in the early morning hours of November 5th. There were reports from social media that near-whiteout conditions were occurring along the Seward Highway near Turnagain Pass during the same time period…

The Turnagain Pass SNOTEL recorded an increase of 9 inches of snow depth on 2/9, ending at 9 PM AKST.

Spotters from the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center (CNFAIC) reported 20 inches of snow fell at road level through Turnagain Pass on Jan 7. The snow line was between 600 and 800 ft, meaning precipitation that fell through the pass was likely all snow. No wind i…

Whittier MAWS reported visibility one half mile or lower with winds gusting in excess of 31 knots (36 mph) on the morning of December 12 through shortly after noon. Similar visibilities were observed at Portage Glacier during the same time period.

Heavy snow with visibilities below 1/4 were reported along Seward Highway and the Whittier Access Road. Alaska 511 reported extremely difficult road conditions due to the heavy snow with observations showing the reduced visibilities.

The Grouse Creek Divide SNOTEL recorded an increase in snow depth of 10.7 inches between the afternoon of 12/7 and about 11 PM of the same evening. Heavy snow and blowing snow was also recorded intermittently in Seward and Whittier during this timeframe.

The Summit Lake SNOTEL measured 14 new inches of snow on November 29. The heaviest snow occurred from late morning through the evening hours, with snowfall rates in excess of one inch per hour.

Heavy snow closed Seward Highway between Moose Pass and Turnagain Pass which was featured in an article on KSRM Radio Broadcast (https://radiokenai.com/road-closures-along-the-seward-highway-in-moose-pass-and-turnagain-pass/).