Avalanche and Weather Resources
Course handouts and other resources for current students.
CAUTION - Links rapidly become out of date. If you find a broken link, try running a search for that item. The National Weather Service, Westwide Avalanche Network, Cyberspace Snow and Avalanche Center, and Alaska Weather Links sites are good starting points.
Avalanche video links (YouTube and other online videos)
Weather links — Daily forecast aids
Weather links — Additional resources (SE Alaska)
Weather links — Additional Resources (Alaska)
Weather links — Additional Resources(General)
Avalanche Links (alphabetical order)
- Alaska Avalanche School - Anchorage based educational nonprofit, the major source of public avalanche education for non-Southeast Alaska. We trade instructors regularly with them. Their courses meet our standards and follow the same high quality Alaskan format; highly recommended. They also sell avalanche gear and texts at good prices.
- The Alaska Mountain Safety Center in Anchorage, 907-345-3566, does not have a website but does avalanche hazard management consulting and custom training of very good quality, carries avalanche gear and textbooks at good prices, and is the bulk source for the text Snow Sense and the clinometer/crystal cards we use in our courses.
- American Avalanche Association (AAA) - The national professional association for avalanche workers in the US, publishers of the Avalanche Review and Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States. Certifying body for avalanche instructors, organizers of the Professional Avalanche Workers’ School, source of the course guidelines followed in the US, originators of the Westwide Avalanche Network.
- Beacon Reviews.com - An independent volunteer effort, source of information on avalanche transceivers and related links.
- Caltech Snow Crystals Site - The best snow crystal photos, and information on snow in the atmosphere. Gorgeous stuff, books, and research.
- Canadian Avalanche Association - Canada’s source for avalanche information. Try the discussion group link, then the Klondike region, for a discussion page where people’s shared observations from the White Pass and Haines Pass areas could be posted to see if it is still active. If so, we encourage people to post Skagway and Haines observations on this page.
- Chugach NF Av Center - A new effort in the past few years, based in Girdwood. No forecast yet, but excellent information on conditions.
- Cyberspace Snow and Avalanche Center (CSAC) - Forecasts, education, information. Good accident reports and statistics. Lots of links to sources.
- Montana State University - This is probably the top school for snow science in the US. A great place to do graduate school.
- National Snow and Ice Data Center - More on glaciers and snow than avalanches, but interesting.
- SEADOGS - The main search and rescue and the main search dog organization for our region. Four certified avalanche dogs and two in training, active since 1977.
- Southeast Alaska Avalanche Center - Our Avalanche Center for Southeast Alaska, part of the National Avalanche Center network. Advisories posted, extensive education resources, information, reports, photos, and research.
- Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) - The premier avalanche research organization in the world.
- Westwide Avalanche Network - This is the closest thing to a one-stop US avalanche site: all the Centers in the National Avalanche Center network, the National Avalanche Center, the American Avalanche Association, links to Centers in Canada and Europe, links to many other sources.
- US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) - Interesting snow and ice research.
- US Forest Service National Avalanche Center Technical Papers - Cool snow geek source from the National Avalanche Center.
- University of Calgary Applied Snow and Avalanche Research - Bruce Jamieson’s program does some of the best graduate-level research. Very useful, practical studies on key areas of interest, good program.
- Yukon Ski Patrol - information from our neighbors in Whitehorse.
Avalanche Video Links (YouTube and Other Online Videos)
- Avalanche, by pylcosterg and Le Fornet Avalanche fallout, from nicoli420 - Two views of the same big patrol-triggered slide dusting a ski village in the French Alps. No damage, but a close call.
- Avalanche in Val D'isere!, from whitefalcon17 - A helmet cam view of a small skier-triggered slide along the edge of a packed run full of skiers.
- Big Avalanches, from vincent 154 - A compilation of avalanche footage, some you may have seen before, some new.
- Snowboarder Triggers an Avalanche, from xLinchx - What happens when you forget to look back to see what's following you!
- "Snowboarding: How to Avoid Avalanches", from The Matrix on 5minLife Videopedia - This is more like how to NOT avoid avalanches, but how to escape from them if you are both focused and lucky. The attitude is way too casual, talking it down and going for more runs after a near-miss is not very smart. But it is great Alaskan big-mountain footage and a good example of how to escape from a bad situation of a relatively small but still quite dangerous slab avalanche.
Weather Links — Daily Forecast Aids (in the order we usually check them)
- Juneau Zone Forecast - the starting point.
- Juneau Short Term Forecast - the most-current update.
- Juneau Wind Information - Our other three higher elevation weather stations, readings updated every minute.
- Fish Creek Research Site - A joint project begun by the Southeast Alaska Avalanche Center and University of Alaska Southeast (UAS), aided by Coastal Helicopters, Haight and Associates, and the National Weather Service. The only publicly-accessible acoustic snow height sensor in the area, and one of a very few higher altitude sites. Great real time customizable graphic display by Ed Knuth of UAS. Thanks also to our student intern Kent Scheler, who spearheaded this effort, to Eran Hood of the UAS Environmental Science program, who secured funding for most of the equipment, and for the ongoing maintenance of the site by UAS Environmental Science students.
- The station was moved from Fish Creek Knob to a new site in the West Bowl of the Eaglecrest ski area, at 690 m (2265’) near the top of Raven and Waterfall runs in the fall of 2004. Eaglecrest and UAS have taken over its maintenance.
- Southeast Observations - Many sites regionwide. Not updated frequently enough, and all at sea level, but useful nonetheless.
- Regional SE Discussion - A text discussion of the current weather trends. Great insight into the thinking behind the forecast.
- Mountain Weather Alaska Weather Links - Jackson Hole mountain weather guru Jim Woodmency’s links to Alaska weather resources are among the best. A very useful site, especially the jetstream map and satellite animations.
- Eaglecrest Snow Report - Honest and accurate, what you get when the ski area is run by the city for the benefit of the community.
- AAWU Current Alaska Map - We have found the Alaska Aviation Weather Unit forecast maps to be the most accurate, readable, and useful weather forecast maps for mountain weather and avalanche forecasting.
- AAWU 24 through 48 Hour Maps - AAWU, includes freezing levels; approximate but a good starting point.
- Eaglecrest Weather Cam - What’s happening at the base lodge?
Weather Links — Additional Resources; SE Alaska (alphabetical order)
- Haines, Pederson Hill, and Lena weather cams - What’s it doing along Lynn Canal? Just north of town? Around the airport and Mendenhall Glacier? They are all on the Alaska Weather Cams site.
- Juneau Forecast Office NWS - Source for many SE Alaska propducts and links. Good site.
- Regional SE Temp & Precip - Useful for 24 hour records. How much did it rain last night? How strong was the wind? What was the overnight low?
- Sitka Radar Base Reflectivity - The local radar. Of limited value here, due to interference form the mountains.
- W Pacific NASA Animation - What’s coming from Siberia? Full-view animation is best option.
Weather Links — Additional Resources; Alaska (alphabetical order)
- Alaska Buoy Map - Handy offshore data. What’s coming our way?
- Alaska Interactive Weather Information Network (IWIN) Data - Good web access NWS format.
- Alaska Railroad Weather - Great source for Southcentral Alaska travelers.
- Alaska Satellite View, Yahoo - False color view.
- Alaska Weather Links - A comprehensive listing by the Alaska Weather Calendar people.
- Full Disk IR Satellite Image - The really big picture.
- GOES Alaska Satellite View - The statewide picture from the old standard weather satellite; infrared is best.
- HRPT Alaska Satellite Views - The large infrared view is a good statewide overview from a new satellite system.
- NWS Alaska Region - The source for statewide weather information.
- Natural Resource Conservation Service Alaska Snow Data - Useful historical climatology data.
- Weather Underground Alaska - Another Alaska compilation.
Weather Links — Additional Resources; General (alphabetical order)
- 3 Day Surface Prog Map - Decent longrange series with easily legible big picture North America maps.
- 4 Day Surface Prog Map- Decent longrange series with easily legible big picture North America maps.
- 5 Day Surface Prog Map- Decent longrange series with easily legible big picture North America maps.
- Environment Canada Weather - The Canadian source.
- Interactive Weather Information Network (IWIN) - Good NWS format for web access nationwide and beyond.
- Mountain Weather - Jim Woodmency’s main site.
- Unisys Weather - A good link, also from Jim Woodmency.
- Weather Underground - A good weather resource site.