Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Obvious Wind Loading was observed on NW, N and NE upper Elevation Aspects as noted above. OF NOTE: Weak Surface Snow was observed on almost all Aspects and Elevations both in the Brighton area on Friday as well as the Snowbird Periphery on Thursday. SH and NSF's were Observed even on some Southerly aspects. The 1 to 2 inches of Snow from the 22nd has rapidly Faceted, and even on top of the Wind Buff that was observed on the Upper Elevation Northerly aspects there were up to 1.5 cm of these Faceted Grains. In more sheltered terrain the top 5 to 7 cm were housing NSF's. And, to complicate things even more, many Southerly Aspects are also housing Crust Facet Sandwiches; and this recipe may allow for Widespread Propagation Potential on thes aspects as the Forecast Loads accumulate over the weekend.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>See above, and with the additional Snow that is forecast to fall in the next 24 hours the current S and SW Moderate Winds may be building Sensitive Slabs; and these slabs will be sitting on weak Faceted pre-storm Surfaces. </p> <p>As with the Wind Slabs as described above, any New Snow may have a difficult time bonding to the pre-storm Snow Surfaces due to the Widespread Weak Surface Snow. Initially, this may be called a Storm Slab/Snow Problem. But as the Weekend and the forecast Event materializes this Problem will morph into a Persistent Slab issue. This Sensitivity may be enhanced as well with the Forecast for rising temperatures on the 24th; and as a result the accumulations on the 24th will be much more dense and heavy. This Sandwich of Strong over Weak will also help house the previously mentioned Light Density Snow from overnight on the 23rd to 24th and further enhance possible Faceting in the Pre-Storm Surface Weak Layers. </p> <p>Up until 1300 hours, the Danger appeared to be mostly Low except at the Highest Elevations where the potential for a Hard Slab may have still been lingering. Once the Winds began to accelerate as previously described, the Danger escalated as well to possibly Moderate for Wind Slabs. At 2100 with up to 4 inches of New Snow on the Ground and Moderate Winds with Strong Gusts the Danger continues to escalate. For Saturday, if the Forecast verifies there may be Naturals possible in Wind Loaded Terrain; and with the addition of more than 1 foot of new snow combined with the Pre-Storm Weak Snow Surfaces New Snow Avalanches may be becoming Widespread as well. </p>
Morning through Mid-Afternoon touring offered a mixed bag of conditions. Upper Elevation Exposed terrain had both Supportable and Breakable Wind Crusts. Southerly Faces with slope angles > 25 degrees had M/F Crusts that were mostly Breakable. Below 8500 feet the Snow became damp. Yet, beyond all of these variable Surface Conditions, fun/excellent creamy riding was found on Recrystaillized Snow in many NW, N and NE locations that had even minimal Sheltered terrain.