Wet snow all aspects - Carson Pass

Location Name: 
Red Vista
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 01/17/2015 - 10:50
Location Map: 
United States
38° 41' 27.024" N, 119° 58' 26.184" W
See map: Google Maps
US



Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Wet surface snow 2 to 15 cm deep existed on all aspects at 10 am. Water droplets on conifer tree needles in very wind sheltered locations indicated that light rain had fallen in the area sometime during the previous 24 hours. The overall snowpack in this area is warm, moist, and contains no evidence of faceting. All layers are very well bonded. Signs of surface wet snow instability were very limited at noon, with one skier triggered pinwheel observed on a N aspect at 8,500' (photo 1). Otherwise, ski cuts on convex terrain features did not produce signs of instability (photo 2).

Snow cover in the area differs dramatically by aspect with minimal snow remaining on S aspects (photo 3, Red Lake Peak) and mostly continuous snowcover on N aspects (photo 4, Forestdale Divide area).

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
50% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
More detailed information about the weather: 

Decreasing cloud cover throughout the morning hours. Light SW winds observed on open ridgetops only.