Avalanche forecast

Central Sierra Nevada

Sierra Avalanche Center
View on map

Avalanche danger

Alpine
1 · Low
Treeline
1 · Low
Below
1 · Low
Open full map
Out of date — this forecast expired 12 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

LOW avalanche danger exists on all elevations and aspects. If the cloud cover arrives later than forecasted or temperatures remain warmer than forecasted, some minor wet snow instabilities may form. Continue to practice safe travel habits and thoughtful decision making when traveling in the backcountry.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    Less overnight cloud cover and cooler nighttime temperatures should have allowed a decent overnight refreeze. This refreeze combined with today's increased cloud cover, cooler temperatures, and increased winds should cause significant wet snow instabilities to remain unlikely. If the cloud cover arrives later than forecasted or temperatures remain warmer than forecasted, some minor wet snow instabilities like small roller balls, pinwheels, or small wet snow sluffs may occur on sun-exposed slopes or mid to lower elevation northerly aspects where the surface snow has not experienced many melt-freeze cycles.

Avalanche Discussion

Yesterday wet snow existed on all aspects up to 9000 ft. on Andesite Ridge, Incline Lake Peak, and Elephant's Back. In some places in these areas, several inches of wet snow existed on top of a supportable melt-freeze crust and in others especially around exposed rocks and trees wet snow existed to the ground. Above 9000 ft on Incline Lake Peak, a firm cold snow surface consisting of wind crusts, scoured surfaces, and small isolated patches of soft snow existed on the northerly aspects. On the sun-exposed southerly aspects above 9000 ft on Incline Lake Peak, about 1 inch of soft wet surface snow formed above a supportable melt freeze crust by midday.

Snowpit data from these three areas and in the Bear Valley area showed the that formation of a weak layer below the uppermost rain crust has slowed down due to the warmer temperatures and warmer snowpack. Tests on this layer indicated that if it does break the resulting fractures are not likely to travel very far along the layer. 

Regions covered