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Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Saturday morning, March 24, 2018

The majority of the terrain has a LOW to MODERATE avalanche danger. There is a chance that a person could trigger an avalanche that breaks over 4 feet deep to the ground on the steep upper elevation slopes that face northwest, north and east. Because of the high consequence, the danger is still CONSIDERABLE there.

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Weather and Snow

The Skyline received rain up to at least 10,000' Thursday afternoon and night. The rain changed to snow down to about 8000'. About 4" of very dense snow accumulated in the higher terrain. It was fairly windy during the storm so the new snow is deeper in some areas and shallower in others. You'll find a fairly stout rain crust under the new snow. The snowpack is wet and unconsolidated below the rain crust in elevations below about 9000'.

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Avalanche Problem #1
Persistent Weak Layer
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Description

The overall stability of the snowpack in the upper elevation more northerly facing terrain has improved over the last week. Settlement of the snowpack after last week's large storm has increased the strength of the mid portion of the snowpack. The new stout rain crust is also helping tie the snowpack together. The problem is that the weak faceted snow near the ground is still weak enough to cause concern. Chances for triggering a deep avalanche are not very likely but the consequence if you do is huge. The most likely spots to trigger something is in the more shallow spots especially around rocky terrain above 9500' in elevation that face northwest, north and east.

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Additional Information

It looks like we have a nice day in store today with partly cloudy skies and mild temperatures. Ridge top high temperatures will be in the mid 30s and the wind should be moderate in speed from the southwest. We'll see partly cloudy skies again on Sunday with a minor storm moving through Sunday night that should bring a few inches of snow. We stay in a cool unsettled northerly flow for most of next week with no significant snow anticipated.

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