24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 0" Season Total Snow: 21" Depth at Gold Basin: 14"

Winds on Pre-Laurel Peak: S 20-25 Temp: 40° F

Weather

Moderate to strong winds have been blowing from the south and southwest for the last 24 hours and it's a blistering 40°F in Gold Basin. High pressure continues to dominate the region and today we'll see another round of record breaking temperatures 20-25 degrees above normal. A long wave trough approaching the Pacific Coast will begin forcing the ridge east on Wednesday. By Wednesday evening we should see light precipitation and Christmas day should bring a few inches of much needed snow. Warm temperatures will keep snow levels high. We'll see a lull on Friday with another pulse of moisture and cooler temperatures over the weekend.

General Conditions

It's been a tough couple of weeks on our snowpack and all you need to do is look up from town to see that. In my travels up the Laurel Highway over the weekend I found thin, mixed bag snow conditions ranging from solid melt freeze crusts, to wind affected snow, to dense, loose, and faceted snow. The record warm temperatures have melted most south aspects down to bare ground, while strong winds from the northwest have blasted exposed northerly aspects above tree line down the rocks. Sheltered terrain near tree line and below harbors 12-24 inches of faceting snow. It's not what I would call a complete "sandbox" yet, but it is definitely becoming very loose and weak and this will undoubtedly develop into a persistent weak layer problem when we finally get more snow. For more details, read my observation and watch the video below.

Chris Benson was also out braving condition up in the high peaks on Saturday. Read his observation from the south slopes of Mount Tukuhnikivatz and see his video from the summit. It paints a sober picture of our overall snow cover.

Snowpack and Weather Data

NEW! Gold Basin webcam storm stake

Gold Basin Storm Stake (10,000')