Observation: Georges Bowl

Observation Date
3/20/2021
Observer Name
Greg Gagne
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Cardiff Fork » Georges Bowl
Location Name or Route
Georges Bowl area
Weather
Sky
Obscured
Precipitation
Heavy Snowfall
Wind Direction
West
Wind Speed
Light
Weather Comments
Periods of S5 (~2" per hour) snowfall during the afternoon. Winds were light along the ridgetop between Cardiff and Mineral.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
12"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Powder
Snow Characteristics Comments
20-30 cms new storm snow by the time we were exiting at 4:30 pm. Much of this came in on a W/SW flow and Cardiff/mid-BCC can do well in this setup.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Heavy Snowfall
Red Flags Comments
Sluffing in the storm snow on steeper aspects during periods of high PI in the afternoon.
Comments
Will keep it simple, because today, it was. Forecast verified with periods of heavy snowfall by late morning and throughout the afternoon. A lot of things went right with this storm:
- old snow surface had frozen, so no wet issues to be concerned about;
- storm snow bonded well to the old snow surface;
- storm came in rightside up (denser snow followed by increasingly lighter snow)
- no instabilities within the storm snow;
- winds decreased as the snowfall increased, minimizing wind drifts.
Ski cuts very effective at managing these sorts of conditions as any avalanche issues you are going to encounter are right near the surface.
For Sunday, issues will be:
- any lingering instabilities within storm snow that fell overnight;
- possible warming in the morning;
- instability snow showers are expected during the afternoon, and a brief spike in the avalanche danger can be possible during any periods of high PI.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Moderate
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Moderate
Coordinates