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Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Saturday morning, February 10, 2018

The avalanche danger will increase a bit today to MODERATE on slopes steeper than 35˚ that face west, north and east above 9500' in elevation. This means human triggered avalanches are possible. Outside of this terrain the avalanche danger is generally LOW. This means that most people can travel safely in the mountains today as long as you're not getting onto the slopes mentioned.

Low
Moderate
Considerable
High
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Weather and Snow

The Skyline picked up 2 to 4 inches of snow last Monday night which improved riding conditions a bit but didn't do a whole lot to help the overall shallow travel conditions. The new snow didn't really change the avalanche danger much and it's been mostly LOW all week. Temperatures remained unseasonably warm through the week.

We have clouds this morning with mountain temperatures in the mid to upper 20s and west wind in the moderate to strong category especially along the ridges.

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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

With benign weather and avalanche conditions, it's easy to forget about the weak snow lurking near the ground. Well, it's still there. We just haven't added enough new snow to make it reactive again. Some snowpit tests still show clean failures and propagation, albeit somewhat stubborn. Above about 9000 feet it's easy to find the weak snow near the ground on the more northerly aspects. Just get off your machine and your boots sink to the ground right through this weak faceted snow. Dig down with your hand and you'll find the sugary faceted snow. There is enough of this stuff to keep me off many steeper slopes that I would travel on if things were completely stable. ADDITIONAL SNOW AND WIND TODAY MAY CREATE LARGE ENOUGH DRIFTS TO OVERLOAD THE WEAK SNOW NEAR THE GROUND.

Additional Information

We have a storm moving through this morning which hopefully bring us 2 to 4 inches of snow in the mountains. Temperatures will drop into the teens later today. West wind will shift more northwest and remain moderate to strong in speed in the higher terrain. Sunday looks like a nice day with mostly clear skies and high temperatures rebounding into the upper 20s and light wind. Another minor weather disturbance will move through on Monday which might bring a few snow flurries with no significant accumulation.

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