Rain and heavy wet snow on Castle Peak

Location Name: 
Castle Peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 11/17/2012 - 16:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 52.884" N, 120° 21' 34.4556" W
See map: Google Maps
US


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

Snow line on Castle peak hovered between 8000 ft and 8500 ft today. Rain falling on the lower elevation slopes quickly saturated the shallow snowpack and melted large quantities of snow. A few small wet roller balls did release on some of the steeper slopes below 8000 ft but most places did not have enough coverage for larger wet snow instabilities.

Above 8000 ft. this storm deposited a mix of rain and very dense and very wet snow on top of the existing snowpack. Wind slabs 2-3 ft thick existed on the most heavily wind loaded N-NE aspects above 8200 ft. Observations and snowpit tests below 8500 ft showed good bonding within the heavy new snow and between this newer snow and the old snow below it. Some small 2-3 ft long shooting cracks did occur in the wind slabs on steep wind loaded N-NE facing test slopes above 8500 ft in this area.

Video: An ECT on 38 degree NNE aspect at 8200 ft.

Snowpit videos (tests, etc): 

ECT on Caslte Peak 11-17-12

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Strong
Precipitation: 
Mixed rain and snow
Air temperature trend: 
Cooling
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Snow level stayed between 8000 ft and 8500 ft between 1pm and 5pm in this area.