Weather

Turnagain avalanche danger high as ‘windy, wet and warm’ front moves through

A potent weather system that moved into Southcentral Sunday was expected to bring windy, warmer conditions from Prince William Sound to Willow and high avalanche danger for Turnagain Pass this week.

The system will bring unsettled weather to much of Southcentral through Monday, according to a special weather statement the National Weather Service issued Sunday morning.

Places along Turnagain Arm and Portage Valley could see gusts up to 70 mph.

Anchorage itself was expected to escape most of the wind and get little precipitation, forecaster Kyle Van Peursem said.

This system was expected to bring above-freezing temperatures across much of the region, according to the Weather Service.

But a dump of snow was forecast for higher elevations above 1,000 feet, raising the risk of avalanche as heavy new accumulation falls on a generally weak, unstable base of snow.

The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center issued a high avalanche danger warning for popular backcountry destinations at Turnagain Pass starting Sunday.

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The storm forecast called for 10 to 20 inches of snow Sunday and another 10 to 20 inches Monday, according to the center.

"Travel in avalanche terrain during this storm is not recommended," avalanche forecaster Wendy Wagner warned in a message recorded Sunday morning.

Winds funneled through other terrain gaps like the Knik River in the Valley could gust to 40 mph on Monday, according to Van Peursem. Generally, strong winds funneled through gaps in terrain will occur from the Copper River Basin through the Matanuska Valley to the Kenai Peninsula.

The center of the system will move inland across Southcentral Monday afternoon, creating strong southerly winds from Cook Inlet to across the Anchorage Bowl, the forecast states.

The brunt of the precipitation was expected to fall along the gulf coast and eastern Kenai Peninsula as rain.

Zaz Hollander

Zaz Hollander is a veteran journalist based in the Mat-Su and is currently an ADN local news editor and reporter. She covers breaking news, the Mat-Su region, aviation and general assignments. Contact her at zhollander@adn.com.

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