Wet snow obs on Rubicon Peak

Location Name: 
Rubicon Peak
Region: 
West Shore Area
Date and time of observation: 
Fri, 04/20/2012 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 59' 21.588" N, 120° 8' 1.212" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Rapid warming
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Radiational cooling last night created snow surface refreeze of the top 10 cm of the snowpack in this area. At noon, this crust was nearly fully melted on N aspects and long since melted on E-S-W aspects. At noted lat/long (N aspect at 9,050') boot pen was 25 cm at noon. At the same time, boot pen less than 15 m away around the corner on an E aspect was 60cm with wet snow to at least that depth.

Photo: At noted lat/long markers in the snowpack showing depth of free water melt today (upper), depth of last night's refreeze (middle), and depth of wet snow formed since April 15 (lower). HS 328 cm with PWL probed 255 cm below the snow surface.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Precipitation: 
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: 

No sign of forecast cumulus build up at 12:30 pm.