tundra travel 14/11/202215 Nov 2022 09:18
DNR has completed an assessment of snow conditions and soil temperatures on the North Slope as related to
off-road travel on State-owned land. All tundra opening areas were sampled between November 8 and
November 13, 2022.
ALL TUNDRA OPENING AREAS ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED. No monitoring stations have met the criterion of
-5°C for soil temperature at 30 cm depth. Soil temperatures are beginning to decrease below0 ?. Snow depths
are variable and are following typical trends with the lowest snow depths in the Eastern Coastal Area. The
Western Coastal, Lower Foothills, and Upper Foothills are all averaging snow depth at, or slightly below, 6
inches. However, snow quality is poor. Snow water equivalent ranges between 0.3 and 0.8 inches throughout
the tundra opening areas.
Opening Area Soil temperature range at 30 cm depth Average snow depth Average snow water equivalent
Eastern Coastal -0.25°C to -1.22°C 4.64 inches 0.4 inch
Western Coastal -0.13°C to -0.38°C 5.61 inches 0.6 inch
Lower Foothills -0.13°C to -0.82°C 6.02 inches 0.7 inch
Upper Foothills -0.06°C to -0.63 °C 5.97 inches 0.7 inch
The target for the two Coastal Areas is 6 inches of snow and soil temperature of -5° C at 30 cm depth. The
target for the two Foothill Areas is 9 inches of snow and soil temperature of -5° C at 30 cm depth.