Wet snow in Deep Creek

Location Name: 
Deep Creek
Region: 
Cabin Creek, Deep Creek, or Pole Creek Area
Date and time of observation: 
Thu, 01/24/2013 - 10:45
Location Map: 
United States
39° 14' 47.616" N, 120° 14' 2.688" W
See map: Google Maps
US


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

Rain on snow produced wet snow on all aspects up to highpoint of travel at 7,640'. No new snow evident in this area at this elevation. Roller balls were triggered off of ski turns on N aspects steeper than 35 degrees. Pit data showed that the near surface facet layer below the rain wetted layer was an easily failing weak layer, but propagation for wet slab activity showed as unlikely in both formal and informal tests.

Photos: Ski cut at 6,150' on a N aspect 47 degree test slope (N 39.25644, W 120.21604) produced mostly roller balls rather than a loose wet avalanche. This was indicative of general conditions in the area on N aspects.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Precipitation: 
Rain
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: 

Very light rain/mist and fog conditions. Sky coverage was never less than 90% during the morning hours.