Most of the terrain on the Skyline has a MODERATE avalanche danger today.
A CONSIDERABLE avalanche danger remains on steep slopes above 9500' that face northwest, north, northeast and east.
Human-triggered avalanches are not all that likely, although if you trigger one, it could be sizeable. It is difficult to determine which slopes will release and which won't. That is what makes this a dangerous situation.
Buried faceted snow from the dry spell in January remains our focus. Chances for triggering an avalanche are fairly low but any avalanche triggered could be quite dangerous. The most likely spots are above 9500 feet in elevation on steep slopes that face northwest, north, northeast and east.
The video below shows the current situation with the snowpack and the buried facets that remain weak.
General Conditions: Temperatures reached the low 30s on Tuesday and cooled to the mid 20s overnight. Wind speeds have really dropped off, and it is basically calm. Two inches of new dense snow from Monday helped riding conditions, but only slightly. Overall, the riding conditions are poor, in my opinion. On snowmobiles, the surface is mostly supportable, but I found the skis would punch through unpredictably. With downhill skis and snowboards, the surface is supportable, and you stay up on top.
Mountain Weather: We'll have mostly clear skies today with temperatures up around 40°F. Wind will be from the southwest and will gradually increase during the day into the moderate speed range by this afternoon. A storm moves in tonight and will linger through Friday. It will have a northwest flow and bring colder air. It's not a huge storm, but we might pick up 4 to 6 inches of new snow by the time it's over. Clouds start to clear Saturday, then warmer weather starts moving in Sunday and into early next week.
This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
