4 to 12 inches of storm snow available for wind transport on Mt Judah.

Went for a sunrise tour this morning to see if the moderate winds that showed around midnight last night on the Ward Peak sensor had drifted snow overnight in the Donner Pass area. Winds were light in the area at sunrise with no sign of blowing snow overnight or prior to ending the tour at 8:30 am. The big take away was that there is 4 to 12 inches of low density storm snow on windward slopes and the ridgetops that is available for wind transport, drifting, and new wind slab formation as soon as the next round of SW winds pick up. 

Newly formed cornices in the area both low and high on the peak were fragile and collapsed easily with intentional efforts. The cornice sizes collapsed were up to 1 cubic meter. Where these landed on the slope below, minor entrainment of surface snow occurred with no signs of wind slab instability during the short sunrise tour. Conditions are expected to change as soon as the wind picks up.