Weather Monitoring

A researcher stands next to a tall weather station on a snow covered field with the sun setting in the background.
Checking in with the Harding Icefield RAWS.

NPS Photo

Kenai Fjords National Park is a land shaped by ice and snow. Too little snow has as big an impact as too much. When your park is about 51% covered in glacial ice, that is a major concern.

To help both researchers and park managers understand the impact of weather and climate on the icefield, glaciers, and the connected ecosystems, several weather stations have been established. Working with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a SNOTEL station has been set up at Exit Glacier. A second SNOTEL, at Nuka Glacier, is not operated by the Kenai Fjords, but is located just outside the park's boundary. Several Remote Automated Weather Stations (RAWS) have also been set up, in or near the park, as part of the Southwest Alaska Network of the park service's Inventory and Monitoring Program. As the data of these stations are collected day after day, month after month, and year after year, we gain a deeper picture of the connections between life and the environment.

 

"Local" Weather

Interested in the weather at a specific station around the park? The following links will take you to the data that is being collected by the individual stations, allowing you to see, what the researchers are seeing.

Exit Glacier SNOTEL
Nuka Glacier SNOTEL


McArthur Pass RAWS
Harding Icefield RAWS
Pedersen Lagoon RAWS
 

Last updated: November 22, 2021

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Mailing Address:

PO Box 1727
Seward, AK 99664

Phone:

907 422-0500

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