6:00 a.m. weather data:

24 Hour Snow 0" 72 Hour Snow 0" Base Depth at Gold Basin 41" Wind S 15-20 Temp 18F

If you haven't had enough sunshine over the past six weeks today is your last chance to get some for awhile. By Monday, a broad low pressure trough and associated multi-day storm system will begin to invade the region. The first wave will have a greater impact on points north though we should still get a shot of snow Monday night into Tuesday. The next wave favors our area with a better chance for significant snowfall starting Tuesday night into Wednesday. This looks like a pretty good event and I'm cautiously optimistic for a foot or more of snow through the duration.

NWS Weather Forecast for the La Sal Mountains

Gold Basin SNOTEL site (10,000')

With snow finally in the forecast, our attention remains focused on the loose, sugary, faceted snow that has formed near the surface during this extended period of high pressure. This loose, faceted snow will likely become our next weak layer in the snowpack and how much snow we get will determine how reactive it becomes. The weakest snow can be found on shady, northerly aspects right around treeline and below. In some of these areas, the entire snowpack has become loose and faceted. Above treeline, conditions are much more variable ranging from from wind scoured and sun crusted, to boiler plate. Where crusts are thin, the snow is faceting underneath. This makes mapping of this future weak layer tricky. Generally speaking, the more sheltered the area, the more likely the the surface is to be weak and faceted. When new snow finally comes, slope by slope analysis will be required when getting into steep terrain.