Su Dog 300 warns of wet ahead of race day

Much of Alaska is under a weather advisory from Thursday night through Sunday. Winds are forecasted to bring rain and warm temperatures. The area that the run will take place is predicted to have close to 50 degree temperatures.

As news spread of the upcoming storm, natuarly mushers and volunteers began asking what this meant for the race. Would the trails hold up? 

The race took to social media late Thursday night with an update on the race. Trails are expected to hold up, but that mushers need to pack rain gear. "It is going to be wet," they wrote. 

Twenty-three teams were signed up and given bib numbers earlier this week, however the race has promised a 40% refund for anyone who withdraws prior to noon Friday.

The update came on the heels of the announcement Wednesday that the Iron Dog plans to use their traditional 2,500 mile route even with the crazy weather. The race, which is the longest "snowmobile" race in the world boasts a large and well known roster this year, and there's no doubt the race is under similar pressure as the Iditarod and other sled dog races across the state. The Iron Dog traditionally leaves off on Big Lake and travels up to Nome before they take a break to reboot the race (they work on their machines and get a little rest in) before continuing and finishing back on Big Lake.

According to reports, the least snow the Iron Dog will face is the section before the Alaska Range - which reports say has more snow than average - there's also little concern about the condition of the trails on the West coast of Alaska even though storms this week along with high tides are forecasted to cause flooding and massive overflow in the Yukon-Kuskoquim Delta region. 

As fans know, the Y-K Delta has seen races postponed due to poor trails and weather conditions. The popular Kuskokwim 300 was set to run this weekend, but had to be postponed in hopes for trail improvements and cooler temperatures and is currently rescheduled for February 7, 2025.

As the storm blows in that will affect this weekend's race, it is also set to hit South Central Alaska. SouthCentral as in Anchorage. Much of South Central is under a flood watch as rain and warm temps are predicted to cause a lot of water on road ways and lower parts of the topography. With the ground frozen there will be nowhere for the water to go. It leaves many expecting that the Iditarod will announce a Fairbanks start on February 3. It would also not be surprising to see them announce a shorter Ceremonial Start similar to what happened in 2016.

As Alaskans all grumble and glare at the Lower 48 (where New Orleans has reported twice as much snowfall this winter than Anchorage) and their lovely winter weather, it remains to be seen how many races will be affected by the "unseasonably warm" weather.

The Su Dog leaves from Willow Lake at 2pm on Saturday January 25. 

What do you think about the latest update from the Su Dog? Predictions on what Iditarod will do for their race? Comment below with your thoughts!

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Season openers may be delayed

The Delta Championship Series - coordinated by the Kuskokwim 300 board - announced on social media this week that in all likely hood the season opener would have to be rescheduled due to unsafe trail conditions. Alaska is having an unseasonably warm December with much of the state seeing rainfall instead of snow, and most bodies of water (including rivers) are still open. 

On the road system the Knik 100 is set to kick off on December 21. the Forecast betweem now and then shows no sign of cooling down, with several days of sleet and freezing rain predicted. Many teams in South Central Alaska are looking for alternate parts of the state to continue training in better trail conditions.

After several years of decent weather early on in the season, fans and mushers all were hoping to see that weather trend continue - but it appears to be a wet and sloppy holiday season in Alaska, with races having to rethink the season.

If things do not drastically improve January races may face a similar fate.

Funny River Fire - day 6 - evening pictures

As of 9pm tonight the area burned has grown to 106,871 acres with still 20% containment. Good news is rain is on the way, bad news it won't be here until the very earliest Wednesday. The winds have picked up again, but it's a steady wind, not like the unpredictable gusts from last night that prompted the evacuations. They don't expect to be evacuating anyone tonight, but everyone is on high alert. Attention/concern has shifted a bit from Kasilof to Funny River as the winds have changed direction.

The smoke cleared here in Kenai this afternoon. No more week old campfire smell for us. Hopefully it stays away as it was unnerving waking up in the middle of the night smelling thick smoke in the house. Not that our little inconvenience is anything near as stressful as what those in the way of the fires have dealt with.

The water bombers are still taking off and landing here in Kenai. They're using both water and retardants now. They're not expecting a big increase in acres over night like we had last night. But things can change. It really depends on the wind.