Heavy snow in forecast for Turnagain Pass will complicate driving and increase avalanche danger

Up to 2 feet of snow could fall in the Turnagain Pass area by Friday night, causing dangerous driving conditions along the Seward Highway and increasing the risk of avalanches, the National Weather Service said.

The snowfall is expected to begin Thursday afternoon and peak overnight, according to a special weather statement from the Weather Service.

The storm is expected to bring east winds with gusts up to 50 mph. Visibility could be reduced to a half mile at times.

Higher elevations will see the heaviest snow accumulation, said Weather Service meteorologist Shaun Baines, but the storm will still cause hazardous travel conditions even at lower elevations on Turnagain Arm.

“The surface temperatures are not real conducive to tons of accumulation, but not very far above the surface — so Alyeska is going to get hammered. Turnagain Pass will get hammered. At sea level there’s a little uncertainty on how much they can actually accumulate with those temperatures either near freezing or even above freezing,” said Baines.

Avalanche danger has increased with the fresh snow. The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center forecast on Thursday that danger was high at all elevations and human-triggered and natural avalanches are likely. Ten to 16 inches of snow had recently fallen in the Turnagain Pass area by Thursday morning, the center said.

Travel in avalanche terrain was not recommended Thursday into Friday.

The Anchorage area is not expected to see significant impact from the storm system, Baines said. There could be snow showers that produce a half inch or less of snow overnight into Friday morning in the Anchorage Bowl and the Hillside could see a few inches, he said.