Road Weather Information, Transportation & Public Facilities, State of Alaska

RWIS Site Information

Klondike Highway @ US/Canadian Border MP 14.9

Site Information
Site ID	32
Organization	ADOT&PF
ESS Vendor	Vaisala
Latitude (degrees)	59.628724
Longitude (degrees)	-135.164067
Altitude (meters)	996
Route IDs	2041009X000
Milepoint	13.079
Borough	Skagway
Census Area	Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon
NWS Forecast Office Public Forecast Zone	Juneau 018
NWS Site Identifier	KLNA2

Site Description

Site Location
The Klondike Highway @ US/Canadian Border RWIS ESS is located on a rock bluff on the right side of the outbound Klondike Highway approximately .05 mile from the US/Canadian Border and .40 mile beyond the White Pass Summit. The White Pass Summit is on the continental divide at an elevation of 3,292 feet. This is a power module site; a generator and solar panels power the site. A fuel cell has been added to the power module. A multi-view, high resolution camera provides north, south, and surrounding area images. The Klondike RWIS site is a cooperative site with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA has installed four cameras at the RWIS site; the images are available on the RWIS Cooperative Links or directly from the FAA Aviation Camera web site. No luminaires exist at this site; however, an infrared illuminator does provide a few nighttime images. The Skagway DOT Maintenance Station (MS), 12 miles to the southwest.
Site Rationale
The Klondike Highway is the route through White Pass into Whitehorse Canada. Weather regimes, including heavy snow and avalanches, significantly impact the area. The Klondike ESS provides the only source of weather information from Skagway to the Canadian Border at MP 14. Because of the elevation there can be heavy snow from October through April/May. Winter weather maintenance is a full-time business during this period. There are avalanche chutes on the road from Skagway. This site is also important for the joint National Weather Service/Environment Canada joint Motoring Forecast for the South Klondike Highway.

Road Weather

511 - Traveler Information

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Department of Transportation
& Public Facilities
PO Box 112500
3132 Channel Drive
Juneau, Alaska 99811-2500
Phone: 907-465-3900 || 907-586-8365 (FAX)