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Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Tuesday morning, February 20, 2018

The avalanche danger is HIGH today. Backcountry travel is not recommended. Stay off and out from underneath steep slopes. Some avalanches may run long distances so it is very important to make sure you are not at the bottom of any large avalanche path.

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Weather and Snow

The Skyline picked up 12 to 17 inches of new snow on Monday. It is very low density powder. The wind remained fairly light after the cold front moved through. Southwest winds were very strong before the cold front which drifted a lot of snow.

Overnight temperatures were in the low single digits. Wind is light to moderate in speed from the west northwest.

LINK TO VIDEO OF SNOWSTAKE 24HR LOOP

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

The biggest concern is triggering an avalanche that breaks into weak snow from earlier this season. Recent strong wind and additional snow have pushed the snowpack to the brink. With the additional snow over the last week, these avalanches are getting into the 3 to 4 foot deep range. This is a situation not to toy with. This problem will stay with us for some time to come. Have patience.

Avalanche Problem #2
New Snow
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description

I noticed that the new snow itself was slightly unstable. It was shearing near the new snow/old snow interface. This was most likely due to a density change during a very high rate of snowfall early Monday morning. This issue will be short lived and will stabilize quickly.

Additional Information

General Announcements

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