Introduction:
Good morning, this is Max Forgensi with the To see past advisories check out the ARCHIVE. To see current conditions go to our WEATHER PAGE. To see photos go to the AVIPHOTOS page. Please give us your observations from
the field HERE. The more observations we get, the better
this forecast can be. We’ve re-scheduled our
Level I American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education Course for
March 2-4 here in |
General Conditions: The hose gave us a good shot of moisture
last night in the La Sal’s…0.60” of H20 and over 7” of powder fell last night
while it was raining in town.
Strong winds were associated with this event as forecasted…and as soon
as the snow stopped a fallin’, the wind stopped a blowin’. You can expect powder conditions to
reign up in the mountains.
Due to the dynamics of the storm…today is going to be the best
conditions to date! Get it while
it lasts, temperatures will creep over freezing through the mid-week. L.U.N.A. was
up yesterday. Their hard work
was erased in one storm…bring out the Nordic gear and keep the skate skis at
home. Mark your calendars for
the Lasaloppet on March 24th! The Grand County Road Department will
be up this morning to do some plowing.
Expect the road to the Geyser Pass Trailhead to be cleared by
mid-morning. 4WD is recommended. Mountain Weather: (At 10,500’) Today:
A 20 percent
chance of snow before 11am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 32. West
southwest wind between 5 and 15 mph. |
Weather Station/ Location |
Snow Depth (HS):
in./cm |
New Snow (HN) in./cm |
|
Current Observations:
Wind, 48 hour snow |
Geyser
Pass Trailhead (9,600’): (snotel link) |
26.9” |
7” |
20 |
Powder! |
|
48” |
7+” |
N/a |
Powder! |
|
48” |
7+” |
n/a |
Great riding conditions |
N/a |
N/a |
9.8 |
Winds out of
the WSW at 1 gusts to 5 |
Avalanche Conditions: (Link to the International
Avalanche Danger Scale here)
– There is a big difference
between yesterday and today’s conditions. Yesterday it tried to snow and last night it did…we’ll see
what Mother Nature could drum up for avalanche activity from last night’s
storm. With new snow and winds
associated with the quick dump, I am suspecting some of the more consistent
paths slid. The good news for
South and West aspects is:
#1: The storm came in
warm and left cold…Result:
Better Bonding w/the old snow surface and #2 the winds started strong
and tapered off throughout the event…Result: When there was more snow available for transport, the wind
could not move it around. I
believe that those North-East aspects will be tested though and as a result, the
BOTTOM
LINE for today will be an AVALANCE DANGER of CONSIDERABLE
on North through East aspects at and above tree-line. The rest of the areas will be MODERATE. You can
expect a decent avalanche cycle out of this storm…the fragile balance between
strength and stress will be tested today. |