Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Cracking, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>I was able to easily trigger localized soft slabs up to 8" deep and 20 feet wide from the recent wind loading. One small slab started a decent sized, fast-running sluff, but was just barely big enough to knock a person over.</p>
Fresh wind slab.
In the area I skied yesterday, any snow from the forecasted storm will be falling on weak, near surface facets and surface hoar below about 7,000 feet in wind protected areas. I was surprised at how weak the surface snow had become. Skiing it was the "loud powder" experience as you could hear the snow crystals colliding with each other. Surface hoar seemed to be 5mm+ size in many areas. I think the lower elevations are weaker due the strong temperature inversion. The lower elevations of the Ogden Valley have been in the single digits for several nights while the upper elevations have been much warmer. I would be suspect of steep, lower elevation slopes if we get much snow out of this storm, as Wednesday night's storm likely just buried the surface hoar intact.