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Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik for
Friday, February 15, 2019
The danger is CONSIDERABLE today especially on the more east facing steep terrain where the wind is depositing snow into deep drifts. Human triggered avalanches are likely today. Wet snow in the lower elevations is also a concern. The bottom line is you'll want to avoid slopes steeper than about 30 degrees today.
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Weather and Snow
Storm totals since Wednesday are 10 to 12" of snow. The last half of the storm was quite warm and produced higher density snow. You may note a slight inversion of the snow where the surface is slightly more dense than the snow underneath. Temperatures are in the mid 20s. The southwest wind howled overnight with gusts to 70mph along the most exposed ridges. It should slow down this morning and we'll see some clearing today. The next portion of the storm moves through tonight with a cold front that should bring 6 to 10" of much lower density snow than what we just received.
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Avalanche Problem #1
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
In general, the snowpack is slowly gaining strength but this storm is stressing it. There are a number of things to consider today.
  • Upper elevations have received a good amount of dense snow which the wind has been transporting. Fresh drifts may be sensitive on their own and the wind drifted snow may be enough to overload buried weak layers deeper in the snowpack.
  • Lower elevations received very wet snow and the snow surface is damp. There is quite weak snow underneath the wet snow and I'm not quite sure how it's reacting. It's probably a good day to stay away from steep terrain like steep walled gullies in the lower elevations. Watch what is above you if you're traveling in lower terrain.
Additional Information
SKYLINE AVALANCHES & OBSERVATIONS
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This forecast is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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