Avalanche forecast

Central Sierra Nevada

Sierra Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
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Out of date — this forecast expired 11 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Avalanche danger should remain LOW for all elevations and aspects again today. Some small loose wet snow instabilities could still occur on some steep slopes today on any aspect where snow cover still exists. Sunny E aspects represent the most likely places to find wet snow. While loose wet snow instabilities should remain minor inconveniences in most places, they could become more problematic near terrain traps (like cliffs) where the terrain can magnify the consequences of any size avalanche.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    Similar to the last several days, clear skies last night should have allowed the snowpack to radiate enough heat out into space for a decent overnight refreeze even though temperatures remained above freezing last night. The well established drainage channels formed by repeated melt-freeze cycles this winter combined with last night's refreeze mean that significant wet snow instabilities remain unlikely again today. Wet snow instabilities represent even less of an issue on the SE-S-SW-W aspects where the most wet snow typically forms since almost all of these aspects have melted back to bare ground. Some minor roller balls or pinwheels may form on the E and ENE aspects today, and those minor wet snow instabilities may extend to the NE, N, and NW aspects as well in areas where cloud cover materializes. Any wet snow instabilities that do form today should remain small and not involve enough snow to bury a person, but they could knock a person off balance or push someone off course. In areas near cliffs, rocks, other exposed hazards, or terrain traps these small inconvenient issues could pose more serious problems. 

Avalanche Discussion

As with other areas, only small isolated patches of snow remained on the SE-S-SW-W aspects in the Mt. Judah area yesterday. Even some of the E and NE aspects below 7800 ft. have started to melt out in this area. On E aspects where snow cover remained 3-4 inches of soft corn snow had formed above a supportable melt-freeze crust by midday. Some small, isolated, and inconsequential skier triggered loose wet snow sluffs and roller balls did occur on some E aspects. The northerly aspects held a mix of wet sticky snow in sunny areas and frozen melt-freeze crusts in shady areas.

Regions covered