Surface Hoar in Meiss Country

Location Name: 
Meiss Meadow
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Date and time of observation: 
Fri, 01/01/2016 - 13:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 44' 19.8492" N, 120° 0' 18.7452" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Professional Observer
Snowpit Observations
Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 

Widespread Surface Hoar in Meiss Meadow country, though not as huge as observed elsewhere recently. In protected but open areas top 5-10 cms of snow felt noticeably uncohesive while skinning due to Surface Hoar and Near Surface Facets. 

Photo 1: Large Surface Hoar in Meiss Meadow on North facing slope.

Photo 2: Surface hoar and NSFs in Meiss Meadow on North Facing slope. The black crystal card is about 2 cms behind this column of snow and shows how weak the upper few part of the snowpack. 

Photo 3: Surface hoar on flat open terrain in Meiss Meadow surviving as of 1pm.

Photo 4: Afternoon SW winds were clearly blowing snow at ridgelines. Snow along ridgelines was a mix of hard crusts and soft wind blown snow. 

 

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
25% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: