Northern San Juan

Shedding due to clear skies and warmer temperatures was limited to superficial roller balls in the alpine. I have included a photo of an avalanche triggered on April 27th spotted while driving off the pass.

This area picked up about 12 inches of snow at about an inch of water during the storm on the 26th. Nearby weather stations measured southwesterly winds averaging 21 mph with a peak gust of 53 mph near the onset of the storm. Today's weather was partly cloudy to isolated clouds, below freezing temperatures above 12000 feet, and light winds.

About 8 inches of settled storm snow sits above a supportable layer likely formed by a windy and warm weather regime prior to the recent storm. Snow appears well-bonded to the new/old interface. We observed no signs of instability at the interface or within the new snow. Yesterday's intermittent pockets of clear skies and warm temperatures appear to have staved off larger shedding until warmer temperatures arrive. These warm temperatures also formed a crust on the surface of the recent snow below about 12,000 feet.