This morning, skies are overcast with light to moderate snowfall. Mountain temperatures are currently in the upper teens' F to mid-twenties F. Over the last 12 hours, the west-northwesterly winds have averaged 10-20 mph at mid-elevations, with some gusts near 70 mph at the uppermost elevation. No measurable accumulation as of 6 AM.

Today, skies will remain mostly cloudy with the occasional light snowfall. Very little additional accumulation is expected 1 to 3 inches. Temperatures will climb into the mid-twenties F. Winds will remain west-northwesterly averaging 10-20 mph at mid-elevations, and 20-30 mph at upper elevations with gusts up to 45 mph at the highest ridgelines.

In the meantime, backcountry travel remains generally easy and riding conditions are pretty good for mid-November. Some wind and sun damage exists in the alpine and on the solar aspects, respectively, but sheltered parts hold soft recrystallized snow. Snow depths are 3-4' in the upper reaches of the Cottonwoods and 2-3' along the Park City ridgeline. Ogden snow depths are 2-3' while Provo trails with only 1-2' snow on the ground.

While it may seem like nothing is happening, a lot is happening within the snowpack. We are seeing a wide variety of snow surfaces, and layering within the snowpack. The cold and clear skies have not only promoted weakening in the upper layers of the snowpack through a process known as faceting, but these atmospheric conditions have been conducive for surface hoar, the wintertime equivalent of dew, deposition on many slopes. I use the word deposition with care: whereas faceting and weakening take place within the snowpack, surface hoar is deposited onto the snow surface. It all makes for soft, turnable snow now, once we get a large load of snow on top of it, the weak faceted snow and surface hoar often become a weak layer down the road.

Right now is an excellent opportunity to take note and begin mapping the variability and surfaces that are currently covering the range, as this will soon enough become the base of our snowpack for the season.

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