Avalanche forecast

Central Sierra Nevada

Sierra Avalanche Center
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Avalanche danger

Thu
Alpine
2 · Moderate
Treeline
2 · Moderate
Below
2 · Moderate
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Out of date — this forecast expired 2 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

As the day warms up, wet snow could slide down steep sunny slopes, and overhanging snow along ridges could break. Pay attention to the snow as it changes and the terrain you are in. Once the snow starts feeling wet, it's best to use lower-angle slopes and stay away from areas with overhanging snow.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Clear skies overnight should have allowed enough heat to escape from the snowpack into the night sky for a thin refreeze despite overnight temperatures remaining above freezing. Today's strong sun and warm weather will melt through this refreeze quickly, and wet loose avalanches will become possible. Wet snow could exist at all elevations and on all aspects. Wet snow instabilities could take many forms today, ranging from roller balls and pinwheels to small sluffs of wet snow to larger wet loose avalanches on long steep slopes.

    Reevaluate the snow conditions often while traveling today. The change from frozen snow to wet snow could happen fast. Once the snow starts to feel wet and mushy, it's time to move away from avalanche terrain or change aspects to where colder snow exists. Sinking into boot-top deep wet snow, roller balls, and pinwheels can also indicate that enough wet snow exists for larger, wet loose avalanches to occur.

    (4/9/2024)

    Ski cuts triggered sluffs of loose wet snow on sunny S aspects around 11 am on Mt. Judah yesterday. This one entrained the top 3 inches of snow.

    Photo: Sierra Avalanche Center

  • Cornices

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Possible
    Size
    1–2

    Sun and warm weather today and a weak refreeze last night mean that the cornices hanging off many ridgelines will weaken. Predicting which cornices will fail and when they will fail remains uncertain, but the consequences of a cornice failure are clear. People could take long falls or get pummeled by large blocks of falling cornices or both simultaneously. In some places, the NE winds have scoured material away from the cornices; in others, they remain large and overhung. 

    Cornices often fail farther back from the edge than expected and break wider than expected. As a result, they almost always surprise people. If your route takes you along a corniced ridge, keep exposed rocks or trees between you and the cornice edge. Also, be wary of traveling on slopes under cornices. It's best to avoid these slopes, but if you have to travel on them, spend as little time as possible doing so.

    (4/9/2024)

    Large cornices still exist along many ridges. Some of these have recently broken and some remain intact and could break as warm weather weakens them.

    Photo: Sierra Avalanche Center

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