Avalanche News - Dec 26, 2023
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Avalanche fell into the airport in Ísafjörður
December 24, 2023 — An avalanche fell just after midnight near Ísafjörður in the airport area. This is confirmed by Minney Sigurdardóttir, a natural hazard specialist at the Icelandic Met Office. According to her, the flood wasn’t very thick, but it crossed a road. “No one was affected by the flood and no damage was done, either to the buildings or the infrastructure of the airport.” The Icelandic Met Office has also declared a level of uncertainty due to the risk of avalanches in North Iceland. In the entry of the Met Office’s avalanche watch, it says that an avalanche fell in Strengsgil, above Siglufjörður, last night, which ran along the Stóri-Boli defense wall and over a road. Also, two avalanches fell over Siglufjörður road last night.
More ... (Iceland Monitor)
Artillery returns to Rogers Pass for avalanche season
In the high mountain passes of southeastern British Columbia, the Canadian military is mounting another winter offensive in its six-decade war against ice and snow. The soldiers will remain on the deployment into the new year when another rotation of troops will continue the work until the fight is abandoned in late March or early April. Canada's longest-running military operation began in 1961, the year before the Trans-Canada Highway fully opened.
At more than 1,300 metres above sea level, Rogers Pass averages about 14 metres of snowfall per year and contains more than 130 active avalanche paths crisscrossing the busy highway. In the winter months, the federal government estimates up to 4,000 vehicles and 40 trains travel through the pass daily. Highway closures in this area have an estimated $500,000-per-hour impact on Canada’s economy.
More ... (iheart radio)
Avalanche closes highway on the Kenai Peninsula
A large avalanche and blizzard conditions in southern Alaska cut off road access Sunday to much of the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage. The avalanche hit the Seward Highway near the intersection of the Sterling Highway around 8 a.m. Sunday. Highway officials expected the road to remain closed for at least 12 hours. The closure 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Anchorage cut off communities served by the two roads including Seward, a town of about 2,600 on the Gulf of Alaska. Avalanche warnings were in effect for the southeastern Kenai Peninsula amid a combination of snow and wind gusting to 30 mph (50 kilometers per hour).
More ... (ABC News)
An avalanche estimated to be 400 feet wide closed the Seward Highway for several hours on Saturday near its intersection with the Sterling Highway on the Kenai Peninsula, cutting off many highway travelers in Southcentral Alaska on Christmas Eve. The closure, which was announced just after 8 a.m. Sunday, ended about seven hours later. The Seward Highway, the main artery connecting Kenai Peninsula communities to Anchorage, reopened after state crews managed to clear debris 3 feet deep from the road.
More ... (Anchorage Daily News)
Avalanche Center Incidents List Updated and Current
Avalanche-Center.org has updated this seasons incidents listing and the report pages. Advisories which were in effect have been linked in for incidents in which they existed. There are now five reports, four in North America and one from Iran. There have been 6 fatalities, 5 in Iran and one in Canada. The archive contains noteworthy incidents including those with fatalities but does not attempt to track all observed avalanches regardless of impact.
More ... (Avalanche-Center.org)
