Snow at high elevations and a little blue sky in Girdwood

There has been light snow fall at sea level in Girdwood the past two nights, however, no build up. The top of the mountain though has been blessed with over a foot of fresh snow. Anywhere over 500 feet elevation is cold enough to retain snow. The snow has been building up so much, Alyeska's snow safety has been hard at work to clear avalanche dangers. The howitzers started at 8 am. There will be no danger for skiers at the top of the mountain as the tram remains closed due to the accident earlier this week.  It still remains above freezing at 34° in Glacier City today at the base of the mountain. 

I drove into Anchorage yesterday and saw the ice and snow had melted in all the marsh areas along Seward Highway along the Turnagain Arm. The sides of the mountains look good where the snow has stayed on the trees. It was nice to be just 40 miles down the road and experience some blue sky and sun shine. Today in Girdwood we are seeing a bit of blue sky between the fluffy clouds, a nice reprieve from the rain.

If you have indoor plants, be sure to check their soil for moisture. Winter care for indoor plants is important because the environment is quite different from the summer. Its easy to forget about their water needs when we people feel so warm. Our central heat systems and gas heaters really lower the humidity in our homes in the winter. Stick your finger into the soil up to the first knuckle after your finger tip. If the soil is dry, water your plants until water runs out the base. Or, if your houseplants are sitting in saucers, fill the saucer full so the soil can absorb from the base. 

A gorgeous sunset toward the Cook Inlet. This photo does not do it justice. Will be working with a better camera in the future.....

Above freezing in Girdwood with a break in the rain

Glacier City is receiving a nice break from precipitation and ultra-grey skies. The temperature, however, is still above freezing. It is 34° at the T this morning. As of noon, the resort is still firing rounds from the howitzer to try and clear potential avalanche danger. They started at 8 am this morning. There was a fair amount of snow on the upper mountain, snow looks like it held steady at about 5-700 feet elevation. At sea level, not so snowy. 

I like seeing the snow stuck on the trees on Max’s shoulder. That gives a better feeling of winter, which it should be! 

Thankfully there were no drunk driving accidents on New Year’s. There were some calls for cold exposure, which in a way was a drunk accident. Drunk kids not realizing they were too cold because they were so inebriated. 

The Resort had an accident due to high winds. A gust blew a tram car into the tower carrying the cables. See more about it on this news website. Everyone made it to the base safely and there were no major injuries. Quite an exciting way to begin a new year! 

Parts of the earth remain exposed to the air today in Girdwood. If you planted new trees this past year, you would do well to mulch around their bases to protect tender roots from freezing the next time the temperature drops. Trimmed tree limbs with needles still on them make good mulch, or you can purchase shredded wood mulch at any garden center. 

Here is a view up Glacier Creek toward Raven Glacier. There are areas on the creek where the water is melting over the snow, seen in the center right. Normally the snow and ice would be covering more of the creek flow and the flow under the bridge. There is no snow under the bridge. 

This is what we like to see in Girdwood

Snow on everything and a cloud bank indication more snow. Here is a nice view toward town, Penguin Ridge on the left. Nice, because everything is covered in snow!!! They have been small wettish flakes however, the temperature has been between 32 and 34, oh so close. At night it did stay around 28.

Walking to work today, the snow was that mushy kind, really slid under the feet making walking weird. The temperature this morning was 30. I was afraid of it warming up and turning to sleet but that did not happen. Between 10 a and noon, there was a great snow shower and flakes were larger than yesterday. That was a good sight.

By 6pm, the snow had stopped, the precipitation was small wet spittle. Wet enough that it did not blow off the windshield. 

The Weather and Snowpack presentation was good at the Glacier Ranger Station. Wendy Wagner presented slides  on how to do column tests and what the snow density ratings mean. F- fist, 4-four fingers, 1-one finger, P-pencil, K-knife. So, before you go back country skiing or snowmachining, check the CNFAIC website for avalanche warnings, great pictures of avalanches, and snow column tests. For good detailed information, check the Observations. There are always good descriptions of snow pack, snow events from specific locations that can help you make an informed decision. There was helpful input from locals of situations to look out for. Jim from Girdwood Ski and Cyclery gave the typical Girdwood response to questions of prediction for the season “it always seems to work itself out into good snow” kind of paraphrased. He also gave this tip: don’t park under trees laden with snow, he has seen big dumps crush car tops! This is part of a series on avalanche safety presented by the forest service and Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center.

There was a small earthquake or tremor felt in Girdwood early this morning. I hope that shook loose some of that snow on top of the unstable hoar for those back country folks. 

Here is a shot of my driveway tonight, you can see some depth in the tire tracks. Mostly,  its damp, 30° (yikes) but holding. The resort is making snow, the fog is so dense, you cannot even see the mountain lights until you are right up close to the T. Good to see the lights on, right?

The other reason I want to show this picture, that is my husband just returning with Girdwood Fire and Rescue. There was a single car roll-over accident at mile 92.5 of the Seward highway last night. The car was a Range Rover and there were two passengers. The car flipped and landed next to the railroad tracks. The observation was, the road looked clear but never believe it now! There will always be a layer of ice right on the surface pavement. And no matter what kind of vehicle you have, don’t give the vehicle more credit that it has against weather!