Industry News
A massive avalanche, approximately 400 feet wide, forced the temporary closure of the crucial Seward Highway for several hours this Christmas Eve near its intersection with the Sterling Highway on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The closure, implemented shortly after 8 a.m. on Sunday, December 24, 2023, lasted approximately seven hours, inconveniencing numerous South-central Alaska travelers during the festive period.
The Seward Highway, a vital lifeline connecting Anchorage to various Kenai Peninsula communities, successfully reopened after diligent efforts by state crews who cleared debris, measuring up to 3 feet deep, from the roadway. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities took to social media, assuring the public that ongoing monitoring and cleanup efforts were underway.
The avalanche, occurring at Mile 37, effectively blocked all lanes of the highway between Mile 36 and 40. Responding swiftly to the crisis, crews spanning from Soldotna to Seward to Girdwood coordinated their efforts, as reported by the state transportation department.
The National Weather Service highlighted that overnight rain, transitioning into snowfall, affected several regions in South-central Alaska. Despite the anticipation of improved weather conditions, the combination of recent snowfall and rain-on-snow raised concerns about potentially hazardous travel conditions.
Snowfall measurements over a 24-hour period, as of Sunday evening, revealed accumulations ranging from 3.6 inches at the Anchorage office of the weather service to a substantial foot in Potter Valley. Meanwhile, in the Mat-Su region, Wasilla and Palmer experienced snowfall reaching up to 9 inches.
Anchorage’s seasonal total is now at 78.0 inches, surpassing the average annual snowfall for this time period by 0.1 inch. This climatic development underscored the impact of the weather on Alaska’s landscape, affecting not only transportation but also contributing to the noteworthy snowfall records in the region.
