Wet snow on all aspects on Andesite Ridge

Location Name: 
Andesite Ridge
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Fri, 03/30/2012 - 14:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 2.016" N, 120° 21' 57.4308" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Rapid warming
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Wet sticky snow existed on all aspects up to at least 8200 feet on Andesite Ridge. Some small roller balls and pinwheels had released naturally and ski cuts on steep slopes triggered more of these types of instabilities on northerly aspects. On the more southerly aspects visible on Donner Peak larger wet point release slides had occurred today. Probing, hand pits, and general observations revealed a very strong upper snowpack with lots of moisture present. The deeper probing showed that the older persistent weak layer has become more difficult to locate in this area.

Photo 1: Sluff triggered by a refrigerator sized cornice dropped onto a steep NE facing slope.

Photo 2: Runnels in a below treeline N facing meadow.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
75% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: 

Continued cloud cover and warm temperatures allowed melting to continue all day on all aspects.