Observation Date
4/16/2014
Region
Salt Lake » Snake Creek
Location Name or Route
Snake Creek Area
Weather
Sky
Clear
Wind Direction
Northwest
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Mostly clear throughout the day with a 2 hour period of high level clouds between 1100 and 1300 hours. Winds were out of the WNW and sustained in the high end of the Light Range. Overnight lows were again unseasonably cold. The winds and the late morning cloud deck kept the temperatures feeling much cooler than forecasted.
Snow Characteristics
Snow Surface Conditions
Wind Crust
Melt-Freeze Crust
Damp
Snow Characteristics Comments

NW, N and NE aspects above 9700 feet still needed more time to cook down to a true corn like substance. It rode more like a one to two inch layer of "porn" (powder/corn). The cool temps, wind and clouds kept all the other aspects solid and they offered excellent corn riding well into the afternoon hours. The last few nights have helped to contribute to a great melt/freeze cycles. Travel is easy and fast, and the few inches of new snow that fell on Sunday has helped to grease the slow, old, and dirty snow that was on the surface before this last small event. Thursday should offer excellent corn riding, and it may be the best (and last) good riding day of the week.

Along with this, the significant warmth from last week has helped the snowpack in many areas to transition in to a more true spring/summer dense layered pack. The melt/freeze surface crust can now be found to be up to at least 10 inches deep in many locations. There were no areas observed that were punchy or unsupportable even at 1400 hours even down to the 8500 foot level.

After Thursday the forecasts indicate that we may be back into a lengthy period of time with no good overnight refreezes, and this appears it will be combined with extreme daytime highs and possible rain.

Red Flags
Red Flags Comments
No avalanche activity from the past 48 hours observed today. Thursdays forecasted highs of 50's at 9000 feet may help initiate another cycle of small Wet Loose Activity due to Rapid Warming that we have not seen since Sunday. Of Note: The only "Red Flag" observed today were sporadic periods of Rock Fall with daytime heating.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Wet Snow
Trend
Increasing Danger
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Low
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate