The Juneau urban avalanche alert has been declared “high” on Monday due to an icy winter storm that dropped up to 20 inches of snow during the weekend is expected to last into the evening.
The advisories state that there is a chance of avalanche activity and there is a chance of massive snow slides. Avalanche terrain is advised to avoid over the next few days. However, Tom Mattice, the city’s emergency programs manager, says that avalanches aren’t likely to affect homes for the time being.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”It could reach the urban border. It is possible to see clouds of powder move through the area, and we might observe an avalanche slipping off,” Mattice said. “But overall I believe that we’re safe in urban setting. .”
According to the advisory, the snowfall happened along with warmer temperatures. The result was the appearance of an “upside down” snowpack with cold light snow at the bottom, and heavier snow on the top. The snowfall occurred following an icy snap that caused frozen crusts on the current snowpack.
The light, cold snow usually isn’t able to bond with the existing snowpack. This means it can be able to give way and cause an avalanche.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Right right now We have some frozen layers of ice deep within the snowpack. They’re extremely weak snow crystals” Mattice said. “Now the snowpack has been loaded up to an incredible extent over the past couple of days. The question is what is the maximum amount they can ?”
The advisory stated that the risk of avalanche is likely to decrease when the storm has ended and cooler temperatures will assist in stabilizing the snowpack of the mountains however, people living in avalanche areas must continue to check the city advisory on avalanches website in the event of the latest information.
