Introduction:
Good
morning, this is Dave Medara with the
If you
have been out in the backcountry, please post your OBSERVATIONS with us!
To
check out past advisories, go to ARCHIVE. To check out the current, go to our WEATHER page.
If you
would like to see some SNOWPIT profiles, click
the link…and more to come.
Current
Conditions:
It looks like 1-3 inches of warm,
windblown snow has fallen overnight which will improve the skiing, riding, or snowmobiling. The State Ride last weekend had a great turnout,
and it looks like they tracked everything out close to Highway 31 and down
towards the south. New snow this week
and last night won’t be enough to cover up most of the tracks except in wind
affected areas up high on the skyline.
Snow conditions today will be a
mixed bag of supportable and breakable sun crusts on South and West facing
slopes, capped by some wet, dense new snow. East and North facing slopes will
also have a crust with a “cap” of dense snow on top of it. This pervasive crust
from the rain this week will be with us for a while. More snow is in the
forecast for this week so, look for increasingly good conditions. Winds will be
a bit quieter up on the skyline today.
Click the links below to find out
up to date information at these weather stations on the Skyline.
Mammoth/Cottonwood SNOTEL
(8,800’): 52” of snow on the ground. It is 19 degrees out at
Seeley Creek SNOTEL (10,000’):
There is 34.5” of snow on the ground.
It is 17 degrees out at
There is 57” of snow on the ground at the Miller Flat Trailhead.
Mountain
Weather:
Today...Mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance
of snow in the early morning. Cooler. Highs at 8000 feet in the lower to mid
30s.
Tonight...Partly
cloudy. Lows at 8000 feet 15-20.
Sunday...Partly cloudy.
Highs at 8000 feet around 40.
Sunday Night...Partly
cloudy. Lows at 8000 feet in the mid 20s.
Avalanche
Conditions: (Click here for the International
Avalanche Danger Scale)
With the new dense snow and a bit of wind we’ll see the avalanche hazard start to creep upwards today. The ice crust in the snowpack now should be suspect and is a potential sliding layer. Cornices and wind loaded slopes will be the likely culprits today for failure. This will be more likely as the day progresses and the snow heats up and loses some of it’s cohesion. Today we are calling the avalanche danger MODERATE, with an increasing trend as the day progresses. This is the time of year that we have to start thinking about daily warming cycles and the changes they make in the snow. Thanks for checking in.
*The advisory
is also available via recorded message at (800) 648-7433