Central Sierra Nevada

Cool windy weather will keep most slopes frozen with wet snow limited to a few sunny, lower-elevations slopes. Avalanches are unlikely. Look for places and conditions that match your group's skills and goals.

Normal caution

Strong NE winds and daytime highs near freezing will help keep the snow surfaces cool today. Many slopes should remain firm and frozen. If any wet snow does form today, it would exist on sheltered lower elevation SE-S-SW aspects that receive direct sunshine. The soft wet snow would be shallow and short-lived. It would start to refreeze as soon as the sun moves away from a slope. Problematic avalanche activity will remain unlikely.

Talk with your partners and make travel plans targetting terrain and conditions that match your group's skills and goals. Even though the avalanche danger is LOW, move in ways that minimize exposure to avalanche hazards like traveling one at a time in avalanche terrain and regrouping in safe zones out of avalanche terrain and runout zones.

Recent Observations:

* Variable snow surface conditions exist across the forecast area including firm ice, shallow unconsolidated snow, wind-packed surfaces, wind-scoured surfaces, breakable crusts, and spring-like melt/freeze snow.

* Some faceting has begun to occur in the upper snowpack in some areas on northerly aspects. Otherwise, the existing snowpack is well consolidated.

* Large cornices exist along many ridgelines. Some of these have deep fissures behind them where they have pulled away from the ridges.