This avalanche advisory is provided through a partnership between the Tahoe National Forest and the Sierra Avalanche Center. This advisory covers the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains between Yuba Pass on the north and Ebbetts Pass on the south. Click here for a map of the forecast area. This advisory applies only to backcountry areas outside established ski area boundaries. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur. This advisory expires 24 hours after the posted time unless otherwise noted. The information in this advisory is provided by the USDA Forest Service who is solely responsible for its content.

A small low-pressure system moving southeast from Oregon should start to affect the forecast area today. It should cause the winds to shift to the west and increase. It should also bring more cloud cover to the area this afternoon and evening. As this system passes through the area tonight, the temperatures should fall into the teens above 7000'. By tomorrow the high-pressure ridge should start to rebuild over the forecast area, and the strong north and northeast winds should return.

Observations from Silver Peak and Incline Lake Peak yesterday showed a mostly stable snowpack with cold, soft snow on the shaded northerly aspects above 7600'. Layer bonding tests, hasty tests, and test slopes all indicated that the new wind slabs formed by the east and northeast winds have bonded well to the snow below them. A sun crust existed on all sun-exposed aspects below 7600' on Silver Peak. Above 7600' this crust was limited to the sun-exposed E-SE-S-SW-W aspects. On Incline Lake Peak the E-SE-S-SW-W aspects had a similar sun crust up to 9000'. Some small skier triggered roller-balls and natural point-release avalanches occurred on the E and SE aspects of Incline Lake Peak due to daytime warming. Wet, sticky snow existed in both areas on almost all sun-exposed slopes by mid-day.

Today, the the main avalanche concern will be wet snow instabilities resulting from the intense March sun and the warm daytime temperatures melting the snow. The strong overnight refreeze, gradual warming over the last few days, and increased cloud cover should limit these instabilities to small point-release avalanches, roller-balls, and pinwheels. They should be most prevalent on the sun-exposed E-SE-S-SW-W aspects today. If the clouds do not materialize or the temperatures rise more than expected today, these instabilities could become more widespread and some wet-slab avalanches may become possible. Use clues like roller-balls, pinwheels, and sinking into wet snow to your boot-tops to indicate which slopes have too much free water on them. If you see these things, it is time to find a colder slope or head out for an afternoon bar-b-que.

The bottom line:

This morning, the avalanche danger is LOW for all elevations and aspects. Pockets of MODERATE avalanche danger may develop due to daytime warming on the E-SE-S-SW-W aspects 35 degrees and steeper at all elevations today.

Andy Anderson - Avalanche Forecaster, Tahoe National Forest

Weather Observations from along the Sierra Crest between 8200 ft and 8800 ft:

0600 temperature:	25 deg. F.
Max. temperature in the last 24 hours:	37 deg. F.
Average wind direction during the last 24 hours:	Northeast
Average wind speed during the last 24 hours:	12 mph
Maximum wind gust in the last 24 hours:	31 mph
New snowfall in the last 24 hours:	O inches
Total snow depth:	149 inches

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

For 7000-8000 ft:
	Wednesday:	Wednesday Night:	Thursday:
Weather:	Partly sunny with more clouds developing later this afternoon	Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers after midnight	Partly cloudy in the morning then clearing through the day
Temperatures:	35-45 deg. F.	16-26 deg. F.	33-40 deg. F.
Wind direction:	Northeast shifting to the west	West shifting to the north	North shifting to the northeast
Wind speed:	10 mph with gusts to 25 mph	10-20 mph with gusts to 40 mph	10-20 mph with gusts to 35 mph increasing to 15-25 mph with gusts to 40 mph in the afternoon
Expected snowfall:	O in.	O in.	O in.
For 8000-9000 ft:
	Wednesday:	Wednesday Night:	Thursday:
Weather:	Partly sunny with more clouds developing later this afternoon	Mostly cloudy with a slight chance of snow showers after midnight	Partly cloudy in the morning then clearing through the day
Temperatures:	30-40 deg. F.	13-23 deg. F.	26-35 deg. F.
Wind direction:	Northeast shifting to the west	West	North shifting to the northeast
Wind speed:	15-20 mph increasing to 20-30 mph with gusts to 50 mph	30-45 mph with gusts to 75 mph	30-50 mph with gusts to 80 mph
Expected snowfall:	O in.	O in.	O in.