Moist Snow on Castle Peak

Location Name: 
Castle Peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 12/03/2014 - 13:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 22' 0.948" N, 120° 21' 17.388" 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: 

2-2.5 ft of new snow has accumulated above 8000 ft on Castle Peak since last Friday. Warming temperatures and rising snow levels over the last 24 hours allowed water to form in all the layers of the snowpack at elevations below 8800 ft. This moisture and warming has caused the weak sugar snow near the base of the snowpack to start to bond together and gain strength. Above those old snow layers about 2-2.5 ft of dense, wet, supportable snow exists. Today snowpit tests did not reveal signs of instability nor did weighting wind-loaded test slopes. By the end of the day settlement cracks had started to form around the bases of trees as the new snow consolidated (photo 1).

The newly formed cornices above wind-loaded test slopes remained fragile and would easily fail when kicked. Some of these cornices broke up to 15ft. away from the initial kick. When the freezer-sized cornice blocks fell onto the wind-loaded test slopes below, they did not trigger noticeable cracking (photo 2).

Below 8000 ft. some small, skier-triggered, wet snow sluffs did occur on one steep test slope (photo 3).

Overall the snowpack proved very supportable in this area and coverage exceeded expectaions.

 

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Mixed rain and snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Greater than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Snow level hovered between 7200 ft. and 8000 ft. for most of the day.