24 Hour Snow 5" 72 Hour Snow 5" Base Depth in Gold Basin 26" Wind SW 15-20 G30 Temp 23F

We managed to wring 5" of dense snow out of the last storm system along with copious amounts of wind! The Pre Laurel Peak wind station appears to be rimed up and has been down since yesterday morning but wind stations throughout the region reported strong southerly winds averaging 20-30 mph with regular gusts into the 40's. Today look for partly cloudy skies with a lingering chance for light scattered showers in the morning, breezy SW winds, and high temps in the low 20's. Snow showers should again develop Saturday night into Sunday with 3"-6" possible by Sunday night. For the long term, a broad trough will dominate the western U.S. over the upcoming week with our next best chance for snow on Tuesday.

Strong SW winds and 5"-6" of dense new snow have created fresh wind slabs 10"- 12" deep on the leeward sides of ridge crests and terrain features, primarily on mid and upper elevation slopes facing NW through E. In these same areas, an older, dense slab, 2'-3' thick exists over weak, October facets. I'm uncertain if this recent, wind drifted snow has provided enough of a load to re-activate this buried persistent weak layer, but it is possible that a triggered wind slab could result in a deeper and much more dangerous avalanche. Until we can get a better feel for how the new snow has affected things, I would avoid steep, northerly aspects, especially where you can detect recent deposits of wind drifted snow.

Overall snow cover remains quite thin and rocks, stumps, and deadfall continue to pose hazards.

Wind Station on Pre Laurel Peak (11,700')

NWS Weather Forecast