24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 0" Season Total Snow: 22" Depth at Gold Basin: 12"

Winds on Pre-Laurel Peak: NW Light Temp: 27° F

Weather

Under high pressure, skies are clear this morning, and temperatures are slightly inverted. As of 5 AM, it is 24°F in Moab and 27°F in Gold Basin. Winds are light, blowing from the northwest. Daytime highs will reach 40°F at 10,000 feet under clear skies. Winds will remain light and shift to the west-southwest. Cloud cover will increase late this afternoon and evening, as Pacific moisture is advected into the region on southwesterly flow aloft. Rain and snow begin to fall just after midnight. The rain-snow line will be between 8,000 and 9,000 feet. We will greet the new year with a couple inches of snow on the ground, and storm totals will be in the 3-6 inch range. Skies clear out for the weekend, and the next chance for snow showers is early next week.

General Conditions

I toured up Gold Basin yesterday and found dust on crust conditions. There is almost 1 inch of recent snow capping the melt-freeze crust from Christmas Day. Sadly, this is the best skiing I have had in a while. The melt-freeze crust and rain crust below it allowed for easy travel both uphill and down. With skis on, I never punched through the crust. I experienced occasional boot penetration through the crust on steeper slopes, but didn't punch through in ski boots on lower-angle slopes. Overall conditions are very shallow, and the newly formed crusts help to keep you above the rocks and other hazards. The bottom line is we need more snow for real skiing and riding.

Check out Eric's video from his fieldwork on Monday.

Snowpack and Weather Data

NEW! Gold Basin webcam storm stake

Gold Basin Storm Stake (10,000')