Avalanche Advisory: Wednesday - Feb 5, 2020 | Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center

Avalanche Problem 1: Normal Caution

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Strong north to northeast winds have been ravaging open slopes at mid to upper elevations over the last two days, and will continue to do so today. The winds continue to etch away firm surfaces and the resulting loose snow is mostly being sublimated into the atmosphere. That being said, isolated micro wind slabs have been forming. Look for these in more extreme cross loaded terrain, and the southerly side of ridgelines. Triggering one of these small pockets could be enough to knock someone off their feet and lead to a fall that would be hard to self arrest. Which leads to the biggest hazard right now being very firm slopes. Melt-freeze surfaces exist on sunnier aspects, and variable firm wind board to sastrugi exist on more open northerly aspects. Use the proper pointy tools and more importantly good judgement to prevent a slide for life.

advisory discussion

The faceting of the snowpack continues, especially with the very cold temperatures over the last several days. Residual buried crusts are continuing to break-down, and some thin crusts are disappearing all together. This process is rejuvenating some riding conditions in sheltered shaded terrain, but of course nothing like a good snowstorm would do. Keep doing your snow dances! And in the meantime, continue to be careful out there with all the variable surfaces and obstacles.

recent observations

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-2/4 - June area: Variable conditions, cold.

-2/4 - Mammoth - Hammil Bowl: Variable conditions, north winds ripping, cold.

Weather and CURRENT CONDITIONS

weather summary

Temperatures will return to more near normal today for this time of year with highs reaching the low to mid 30s around 10,000’. Expect partly cloudy skies with continuing north to northeast winds with gusts into the 50s over ridge tops.

A slight chance of a few flurries exists for tonight, then clear skies and a warming trend will last thru Saturday. Another cold front moves in on Sunday dropping temperatures again dramatically and bringing a chance of snow.

Two-Day Mountain Weather Forecast Produced in partnership with the Reno NWS

For 8,000 ft. to 10,000 ft.

	Wednesday	Wednesday Night	Thursday
Weather:	Partly cloudy. Snow levels below 7000 feet increasing to 7000 feet in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 10%.	Partly cloudy. Slight chance of snow showers through the night. Snow levels 7000 feet. Chance of precipitation is 20%.	Partly cloudy then becoming sunny. Snow levels below 7000 feet increasing to 7500 feet in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 5%.
Temperatures:	34 to 42. deg. F.	22 to 27. deg. F.	39 to 49. deg. F.
Mid Slope Winds:	North around 15 mph with gusts to 40 mph.	Northwest around 15 mph. Gusts up to 40 mph decreasing to 30 mph after midnight.	Light winds.
Expected snowfall:	0 in.	No accumulation. \| SWE = trace amounts. in.	0 in.

Over 10,000 ft.

	Wednesday	Wednesday Night	Thursday
Weather:	Sunny then becoming partly cloudy. Snow levels below 7000 feet increasing to 7000 feet in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 10%.	Partly cloudy. Slight chance of snow showers after midnight. Snow levels 7500 feet. Chance of precipitation is 20%.	Sunny. Snow levels 7000 feet increasing to 8000 feet in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 5%.
Temperatures:	28 to 34. deg. F.	20 to 25. deg. F.	32 to 40. deg. F.
Ridge Top Winds:	North 30 to 45 mph with gusts to 55 mph.	North 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 50 mph decreasing to 15 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph after midnight.	North 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph.
Expected snowfall:	0 in.	No accumulation. \| SWE = trace amounts. in.	0 in.

Disclaimer

This Avalanche Advisory is designed to generally describe avalanche conditions where local variations always occur. This product only applies to backcountry areas located outside established ski area boundaries. The information in this Avalanche Advisory is provided by the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center, who is solely responsible for its content.