Avalanche

Mill city storm day tour- Storm instabilities and soft snow

Steve MaceEastside Region
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Observation photo 1Observation photo 2Observation photo 3Observation photo 4Observation photo 5

Quick report

Cracking
specific

I went for a quick tour of the Mill City area this afternoon to see how this storm is stacking up.

  • Heavy snow continued throughout the day today.
  • Things cooled down today, and the new snow is mostly right-side up.
  • I measured about 60 cm on top of the rain crust from 1/1
  • I triggered several small avalanches today on small test slopes between 8600' and 8800' -- N-NE-E aspects.
  • The winds were light this morning in the area, but seemed to increase a bit by the afternoon. 
While I triggered several small avalanches on small test slopes, I was also pleasantly surprised by the lack of other signs of instability. The new snow today is light, and things are pretty right-side-up. I did note some shooting cracks on steep rollovers, and I would describe loose dry hazard as widespread. It is also worth noting that there are copious amounts of snow available to transport if/when the winds become more productive.

Weather

Air Temp
24
Cloud Cover
overcast
Wind Loading
light
Recent Snowfall
60
Snow Avail For Transport
large amounts

Stormy day today with heavy snow and cold temps. Winds were surprisingly light this morning, picking up a bit this afternoon.

Avalanche

Size
D1
Type
L
Count
3
Aspect
NE
Trigger
AS
Elevation
8600 ft

I triggered several small avalanches today on small test slopes below treeline. I triggered a couple of storm slabs, several loose dry sluffs, and a more sizable wind slab in an exposed catchment zone on a NE aspect at 8800'.