Quick report
- Aspect
- Northwest
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2804 m
- Slope Angle
- 32°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Mid and lower elevations were already wet and gloppy by 1:00. Facets had started to form under the crust.</p>
I was surprised at the snowpack depth of 345 cm in this location.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>As daytime warming continued and the new snow was not bonded well to the old snow, steeper slopes have a definite risk of wet slides. This risk is a combination of a storm slab and web slide risk.</p> <p>If we do not get a refreeze tonight, this risk could increase.</p>
The new snow was not binding to the old snow surface (crust) as well as I had expected. The warm weather when the storm moved in did not allow the old snow to freeze so low, mid, and sheltered upper elevations still had isothermic and unsupportable snow.
See photo below for an example of the poor bonding of the new snow to the old snow surface.