Storm Snow on Jake's Peak

Location Name: 
Jakes Peak
Region: 
West Shore Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 04/08/2017 - 12:30
Location Map: 
United States
38° 58' 12.4068" N, 120° 6' 46.7604" 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: 

6 to 8 inches of soft light snow from last night rested on top of a denser 10 to 12 inches from Thursday night and Friday. This 16 to 18 inches of storm snow sat on top of wet rain-soaked snow and refreezing rain crusts. Snowpit observations on a N aspect at 8160 ft. and on a more E aspect at 8800 ft. showed good bonding within the storm snow despite some small density changes and that the storm snow has bonded well to the wet snow and crusts below it. Extended column tests in these areas indicated that if the snow does break the resulting fractures are unlikely to travel very far. Ski cuts on below treeline test slopes produced small loose dry sluffs but no cracking or signs of slab instabilities. In more exposed and typically wind-loaded areas near the summit of Jake's, little to no evidence of unstable wind slabs existed. Some scouring had occurred and the frozen rain crusts were closer to the snow surface. 

Photo 1: ECTN23 on a N aspect at 8160 ft.

Photo 2: ECTN 26 on an E aspect at 8800 ft. The line shows where the storm snow goes from fist-hard to four-finger-hard.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
75% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: