Observation: Moab

Observation Date
12/25/2019
Observer Name
Travis Nauman
Region
Moab
Location Name or Route
North woods
Weather
Sky
Overcast
Precipitation
Light Snowfall
Wind Direction
Southeast
Wind Speed
Moderate
Weather Comments
It was a cold day with moderate winds above tree line, but not as bad as expected. We mostly stayed out the the wind on sheltered aspects, but open areas has some wind affects.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
Although there were some wind drifts, everything was still pretty soft and mostly moderate density powder. This new snow is already starting to form a soft slab, especially where wind has gotten to it. When we peeked above tree line above the northwoods, wind drifts were more pronounced, and snow was still being actively transported. We weren't sure how much snow we would find as the Gold Basin snow gauge had some crazy readings. We checked the gauge at ~2pm and there was 12" of new snow and a total depth of 36" at the stake. We dug a quick pit to look at the storm interface at ~10,400 ft on a sheltered north face and observed ~51" of total snowpack, deeper than expected. A quick CT test did get a CT5 Q2 at the old snow interface (40" off ground), but the result was a gradual fracture that was not very planar. We did note some graupel at that interface that probably fell at the beginning of the storm. After clearing that top storm snow, we continued the CT test and had a CT8 Q2 result at 32" off the ground that did pop out a little bit, but was also not super planar. Could not really pick out what that was failing on, but the underlying snow was a bit coarser grained. I think the snow is adjusting to the new snow and will probably stop reacting in a day or so. However, this was a very sheltered aspect, and wind loaded areas will be a different story.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Loading
Collapsing
Red Flags Comments
We had a couple of pretty subtle collapses while touring. There has definitely been some wind loading, particularly in the alpine. Did not get good eyes on the steeper alpine terrain, so there may have been some slides last night, hard to say.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Decreasing Danger
Problem #1 Comments
The new snow interface did fracture in our CT test, but not in a sudden manner. I think the snow will bond well as the interface with the old snow was really hard to actually discern.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
The winds have stayed just strong enough to transport snow on pre laurel and our observations at timberline confirmed considerable wind loading. The forecast is for more of the same, more snow with wind hovering right around 15-20 mph, which is kind of the tipping point for transport, so the wind problem moving forward will just depend on how much snow actually gets transported.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates