Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Sunday morning, April 13, 2025
Slightly cooler temperatures has decreased the avalanche danger a bit.
The danger still remains MODERATE in the mid and upper elevations.
Cornice falls and wet loose avalanches are what you should be looking out for.
Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Special Announcements
After today, avalanche forecasts will be updated intermittently, mainly revolving around storms. A storm system late in the week may be large enough to demand some forecast updates.
Weather and Snow
Current Conditions: Temperatures cooled slightly over the last 24 hours. Overnight lows were down into the low to mid 30s. The snow surface should be frozen up fairly decently this morning. Wind has been light from the west.
Mountain Weather: We'll see mostly clear skies and temperatures into the upper 40s with light wind from the west northwest today. The wind will pick up speed a bit late in the day. Monday looks similar then the weather pattern looks messy through the remainder of the week. Weather models are currently advertising a fairly decent looking storm late in the week that could bring a good shot of snow.
Recent Avalanches
There's been some natural wet loose avalanche activity over the last few days. Below is a photo which shows an example of the typical activity we see in the springtime. This was in Olsen Canyon above Joe's Valley. These slides were probably triggered by small pieces of cornices falling off.
PHOTO: Beau Lund
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Avalanche Problem #1
Cornice
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
Continued warm weather is a big red flag for potential cornice falls. This remains the most likely type of avalanche we'll see today. This is a simple problem to manage:
  • Don't travel on top of cornices.
  • Don't travel underneath cornices.
Photo below: example of a cornice that should be avoided during the heat of the day.
Avalanche Problem #2
Wet Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
With slightly cooler temperatures, wet snow avalanche activity will be a bit less likely today and over the next couple of days. Still, with warm weather during the spring you should always be alert to this issue. The wet snow avalanche problem is simple to manage:
  • Avoid being on or below very steep slopes when the snow becomes wet, saturated, sloppy and punchy.
Photo below: example of a pile of debris from a wet loose avalanche
One more thing to add about the warming. At some point we may see the older deeply buried weak layers come to life again as water percolates through the snowpack and lubricates those old layers. The mountains, in essence, will start to shed and we could see wet slab avalanches breaking deep into the snowpack. This is a pretty difficult thing to pin down on if or when it will happen but numerous nights with above freezing temperatures is an indicator. This issue is also easy to manage: Stay off of and out from below steep slopes during the heat of the day.
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.