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Out of date — this forecast expired 11 years ago.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 today. Some small loose wet snow instabilities could still occur on some steep slopes today on any aspect where snow cover still exists. While these 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

    Despite overnight temperatures above freezing, the wet snow that formed yesterday should have all refrozen last night since clear skies allowed the snowpack to radiate heat out into space. This melt-freeze cycle represents the latest in a long series of melt-freeze cycles that have occurred this winter. The repeated melt-freeze cycles mean that any free water that does form in the snowpack can easily drain out of the snow. This well established drainage combined with last night's solid refreeze mean that significant wet snow instabilities remain unlikely today. The lack of snow cover on almost all of the SE-S-SW-W aspects will also limit the formation of troublesome wet snow instabilities since those aspects represent the slopes where the most wet snow typically forms. Some minor roller balls or pinwheels may form on the E and ENE aspects today, and if widespread cloud cover materializes, those minor wet snow instabilities may extend to the NE, N, and NW aspects as well. 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

Observations yesterday on Relay Peak revealed conditions consistent with those seen in other areas around the region recently. Sunny east aspects held a few inches of soft wet corn snow resting on top of a supportable melt-freeze crust while northerly aspects and shady east aspects held a mix of wet sticky surface snow that has not fully transitioned to corn and thin frozen melt-freeze crusts. Small inconsequential skier-triggered roller balls and pinwheels represented the only signs of loose wet snow instabilities. Snow cover only existed in a few small isolated areas on the SE-S-SW aspects.

Regions covered