Abajos

It's been close to a week since 2' of snow containing 3.0" of snow water equivalent (SWE) fell in the Abajo/Blue Mountains and the snowpack has largely adjusted to the load. This means that human triggered avalanches are unlikely but not impossible. As the day heats up, the danger will rise for loose, wet avalanches on sun exposed slopes. Signs of instability include rollerballs, pinwheels, and sloppy wet snow. ​​​​​​Stay off of, and out from under steep slopes when these signs are present.

Weather

Friday: Winds from the NW have been on the increase overnight. Look for mostly clear skies this morning with clouds developing this afternoon as a shortwave disturbance passes by to the north. High temps at 10,000' will be near 40F.

Saturday: Winds will shift to the SW and start cranking up ahead of a decent looking storm system. Skies will be mostly cloudy with wind speeds up to 40 mph. Snowfall should begin sometime Saturday night with 6" possible through Sunday.

Unsettled weather continues through next week.

General Conditions:

March conditions are in full effect and you can find a little bit of everything out there right now including varying degrees of breakable sun crust that turn sloppy late in the day, and soft, settled powder on sheltered, northerly aspects. The sun is high in the sky however, and low angle northerly aspects are now open to sun exposure. Avoid steep slopes that become wet and sloppy with daytime heating.

NWS forecast for the Abajo Mountains.

Snow totals and temps at Buckboard Flat (8924')

Snow totals and temps at Camp Jackson (8858')

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.