Wet Snow Conditions on Donner Summit

Location Name: 
Mt. Judah
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Mon, 03/03/2014 - 14:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 18' 18.2448" N, 120° 19' 1.848" W
See map: Google Maps
US


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

Wet conditions throughout the day on Donner Summit.  At 11am it was raining at 7000' and slightly warmed up throughout the day with rain above 7500' by 2pm.  Informal tests at 7400' in wind loaded terrain revealed no signs of reactive wind slabs.  Cornice kicks were hard with very little cornice being able to be kicked off and no cracking at all.  At 7700' on Wildflower Ridge, there was some evidence of past cornice failure that was covered up by recent storm snow.  3 CT's had moderate results on a density change within the storm snow with Q3 shears about 12'' deep-ECTN on this same layer.  Cloud ceiling was around 7500' with poor visibility on the top of Mt. Judah.  Ski travel was ok above 7800' but below 7500' the snow was sticky, punchy, and wet.  No current wind loading was observed with the snow surface being wet and not able to be transported. 

Photo#1:  Small wet loose roller balls mostly below 7500'

Photo#2:  Low visibility on the East face of Mt Judah, 8200'.

Photo#3:  Cornice kicks at 7400', north aspect 35-40 degrees produced very small roller balls with no propagation observed.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Mixed rain and snow
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: