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Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Tuesday morning, December 5, 2023
The overall avalanche danger is MODERATE today. The snowpack is stabilizing and the avalanche danger is decreasing. Small human triggered avalanches are possible but are not all that likely.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
The 5th Annual Avalanche Awareness Week is December 3-10. The week's goal is to save lives through activities that promote avalanche awareness, education, and safety. We have a variety of events around the state. Find an event near you.
Weather and Snow
Current Conditions: Temperatures got pretty warm on Monday with highs into the mid 30s ˚F. The newest snow is very dense and became damp on sunny aspects as well as all aspects in the lower elevations. Overnight temperatures were in the mid to upper 20s and the wind has been light from the northwest.
Mountain Weather: We have two more days of very mild weather with mountain temperatures getting into the low 40s. Wind will shift around and blow from the southwest with gradually increasing speeds through Wednesday afternoon. The Thursday/Friday storm is looking weaker to me today. I'm thinking it's only going to produce 2 to 4 inches by Saturday.
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Avalanche Problem #1
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
The new snow settled a great deal on Monday. It is no longer producing shooting cracks. It is still a little inverted meaning that you punch through the dense snow on the surface to softer less dense snow underneath. This will be even less pronounced today as things continue to settle. Snowpit tests on Monday still propagated and revealed the weakness under the newest snow but the results were stubborn. Overall the snow pack looks ok right now. We really could use some more storms at this point to keep the momentum going or the shallow pack could start to fall apart and get weak.
For today, avoid the steepest terrain where the wind has deposited large drifts and you'll stay out of trouble.
General Announcements
This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.