24 Hour Snow: 0" 72 Hour Snow: 0" Season Total Snow: 21" Depth at Gold Basin: 16"

Winds on Pre-Laurel Peak: 10-15 WSW Temp: 26° F

Weather

Cloudy skies with a lingering chance for snow showers this morning should turn partly sunny as the day progresses. Look for blustery, west northwest winds averaging 15-20 mph along ridge tops. High temperatures will be in the low 20's at 10,000'. Sunday looks clear with warmer temperatures. We'll see a gradual warming trend through next week. The long range picture looks bleak. High pressure off the Southern California coast is forcing systems to the north leaving us high and dry for the foreseeable future.

General Conditions

Conditions are thin with average snow depths ranging from about 16-24 inches. The underlying snowpack is weak and faceted, allowing skis to punch deep when skiing downhill and attempting to make turns. Rocks and logs are a real hazard, and the punchy snow doesn't help. Weak snow can now be found on all aspects and with the extended dry period ahead it will become weaker. The soft slab that formed from last Sunday's 9 inches remains quite soft and has largely relaxed. It's a little stiffer in wind affected areas, especially above tree line, and this is where you are most likely to find problems. For more details, see my observation from yesterday. Sam Van Wetter made it up the Laurel Highway yesterday and braved the woods on his way down. See his observation here. It's thin in there to say the least.

Want some good news? This is actually a fairly normal start for us and we are sitting at over 90% Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) for this time of year. There's plenty of snow on the dirt roads to get up and slide around on and we'll just have to be patient.

It is what it is...

Check out recent observations here.

Snowpack and Weather Data

NEW! Gold Basin webcam storm stake

Gold Basin Storm Stake (10,000')