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Out of date — this forecast expired 9 years ago. You’re viewing past conditions, not the current bulletin.

Highlights

Avalanche danger is LOW for all elevations. Isolated areas of unstable snow will form today. Loose wet is the avalanche problem to look for and avoid. Slab avalanches are very unlikely today on a regional scale.

Avalanche problems

  • Loose Wet

    • Alpine
    • Treeline
    • Below treeline
    Likelihood
    Unlikely
    Size
    1

    A good snow surface refreeze is expected to have occurred last night due to radiational cooling under clear skies despite above freezing air temperatures overnight at the mid and upper elevations. As daytime warming progresses, most wet snow instability today will present in the form of roller balls and pinwheels. Loose wet avalanches of size D1 (too small to bury a person) could be human triggered in isolated areas of steep terrain. This avalanche problem is most likely on E-SE aspects where a combination of full sun exposure and continuous snow cover exists. This problem is less likely on S-SW-W aspects due to thin patchy snow cover in many areas, but still warrants consideration.

Avalanche Discussion

* Observations made yesterday in Lincoln Valley (Yuba Pass area) reported surface wet snow at noon limited to only the top 1 to 2 inches of the snowpack on southerly aspects in the 6,900' to 7,500' elevation range. No signs of wet snow instability were observed. Snowpit data collected on a N aspect at 7,650' identified some near crust facets around 2.3 feet deep in the snowpack, but no problematic test results or indications of instability were observed.

* Observations made yesterday on Fireplug (Mount Rose area) found 2 to 4 inches of surface wet snow on SE-S aspects at mid day. Near exposed dirt patches and rocks, the layer of wet snow was deeper at 4 to 6 inches and represented almost all of the snowpack. Ski cuts on a steep SE facing test slope triggered small pinwheels and roller balls. Snowpit data collected from shaded N aspect terrain in this area identified some older layers of faceted snow with no signs of current instability.

* Observations received yesterday from Silver Peak (Pole Creek area) reported supportable crust into the afternoon hours on E aspects at 8,000'. Limited snow cover was reported on all aspects in the Pole Creek drainage below 7,000'. Snowpit data collected near 8,000' on a NNW aspect showed an unlikely to be triggered faceted snow persistent slab structure lingering around 2.7 feet deep in the snowpack.

* A mix of breakable and supportable crusts will have formed in the majority of areas again last night. Only the most heavily shaded upper elevation NW-N-NE aspect terrain will have surface snow that has yet to be affected by melt-freeze.

Regions covered