Warm day on Red Lake Peak

Location Name: 
Red Lake Peak
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Thu, 02/25/2016 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 42' 55.2888" N, 119° 58' 50.0664" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Rapid warming
Obvious avalanche path
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Skinning on sunny slopes was tee-shirt-warm before mid-day today on Red Red Peak. Melt freeze conditions were observed to have reached the last crust layer, buried 30-50cm down, on sunny slopes. Last night's refreeze was observed to have reached 10-15cm down, with partly refrozen wet grains below that. No pooling of free water on layers within the top 50cm of snow observed. On shady slopes above treeline, icy and wind stripped surfaces were observed.

Pic 1: Above treeline, wind deposited dirt on the surface influencing solar radiation and melt rates.

Pic 2: Sastrugi transitioning to sun cups, especially where dirt has been trapped by surface roughness.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
West
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: