Wet snow instability on Becker Ridge.

Location Name: 
Becker Ridge
Region: 
Echo Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 04/09/2016 - 11:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 49' 54.1668" N, 120° 3' 25.7112" 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: 

Mix of rain and snow up to the high point of travel at 8,000' on Becker Ridge this morning. Generally light to moderate rain was observed with periods of snowfall down to 7,900' during periods of higher intensity precipitation. A saturated wet snow surface existed on all aspects. At noted lat/long (8,000'), wet snow made up at least the top 2 feet of the snowpack on N aspects. Ski cuts on N aspect test slopes steeper than 40 degrees produced shallow loose wet avalanche activity.

Photo 1: Shallow loose wet avalanche triggered by ski cut on N aspect, 50 degree slope, 8,000'.

Photo 2: Rain on snow on Becker Ridge at 7,800'.

Photo 3: Temporarily lowered snow level during period of higher intensity precip at 7,900' on Becker Ridge. Snow was falling on a 0 deg C wet snow surface and was not accumulating.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Precipitation: 
Mixed rain and snow
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
None