Central Sierra Nevada

Avalanche problems should remain unlikely until new snow or rain adds weight to the snow. Until then, the shallow snow will get weaker on cold shady slopes. Those moving on snow will find mixed surfaces including firm icy areas.

Normal caution

Sunny southerly aspects and lower elevation areas have little to no snow on them as a result of the warm dry weather.  Short days, long nights, and low sun angles have kept the NW-N-NE aspects cool and shaded. A shallow but mostly supportable snowpack does still exist on these aspects above 8000 to 8500 ft.  The supportability comes with a mix of firm icy crusts and breakable crusts on the snow surface. 

The same cold shady conditions that keep the northerly aspects cool have also caused weak layers to form in the snowpack in those areas. The dense snow and solid rain crusts that accumulated in October and early November have deteriorated to a mix of weak sugary snow (facets) and eroding crusts in the mid and upper parts of the snowpack. Below these weakening layers, ice exists at the bottom of the snowpack in many areas. The long nights, short days, and low sun angles will allow the facetting process to continue building weak layers in the shallow snowpack.  

For now, avalanche activity remains unlikely because little to no slab exists on top of the weak layers. However, the weak layers that have formed during this dry spell could lead to complicated avalanche problems when new snow or rain returns to the region. Mapping out the areas where these weak layers exist and monitoring them as they form will provide a key piece of information for decision-making after new snow buries them.

Recent Observations:

* 1 to 3 feet of snow exists on NW-N-NE aspects above about 8,000 ft. The snow surface remains highly variable with a mix of firm icy crusts and breakable crusts in most places. 

* Almost all SE-S-SW-W aspects are snow-free with continuous bare ground exposed. A few high elevation E-SE aspects hold some snow cover.