Thanks to a grant from the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Alaska Community Foundation, Haines has a new weather station.

Volunteers from Haines help pack up gear for the new weather station

The last Sunday in September a band of 10 hearty volunteers hiked up Mt. Ripinksky just out of Haines. Their mission: to bring timely weather information for those who live and visit Haines and enjoy winter sports including skiing, boarding, snowshoeing, and riding snowmachines. The group helped carry more than 200 pounds of equipment up the mountain for a new weather station made possible thanks to grants from the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation and the Rasmuson Foundation.

Erik Stevens, the Haines Center Director, said the mission of the project was for the Haines Avalanche Information Center to build on its capabilities to serve the community by increasing the amount of snow and weather data it provides.

“We expect the weather station to attract many more visitors to our website seeking additional information, greatly increasing awareness of our programs, avalanches and the Haines Avalanche Center goals for our community,” explained Stevens. “Overall, this project has already increased our organization’s value to the community it serves, and we expect this forward momentum to make many more programs possible in the future as we continue to grow.”

Photo by Lew Lowery, Installing the new weather station

Stevens said the group had a fun, productive day climbing the mountain and he is extremely pleased with the placement of the equipment. “I’m confident this should be a good location to collect representative data.”

If you visit, live, work or travel in the mountains surrounding Haines, this weather station is expected to provide valuable information about weather and snow conditions beginning this winter at AlaskaSnow.org/haines.

Photo Lew Lowery

The AlaskaSnow.org website provides public access to snow forecasting, observations and education opportunities across the state. The network of forecast centers includes: Anchorage, Cordova, Eastern Alaska Range, Haines, Hatcher Pass and Valdez. In addition, you will find links to the Southeast Alaska Avalanche Center (SEAC), and Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center (CNFAIC), as well as the National Weather Service.

The site is now live and you can check out the feed HERE