Wet Snow in the Sun, Cold Snow in the Shade

Location Name: 
Fireplug
Region: 
Mount Rose Area
Date and time of observation: 
Fri, 02/02/2018 - 12:30
Location Map: 
United States
39° 19' 26.6628" N, 119° 54' 29.8944" W
See map: Google Maps
US



Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

On sunny SE-S aspects 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) of wet snow existed in areas where snow coverage remained. Near the numerous exposed dirt patches and rocks, the layer of wet snow was deeper at 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 inches) but the snowpack was only 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches) deep in these places. Ski cuts on a steep SE facing test slopes did trigger small pinwheels and roller balls. On the sun-exposed slopes, the surface snow was wet and sticky. 

Shady areas that were previously sun-exposed had a mix of firm crusts and breakable crusts on them. Shady N facing slopes with little to no sun-exposure still held cold soft surface snow. Snowpit data from one of these slopes showed that the previous persistent weak layers of facets have gained strength (ECTN 28 and PST 90/100 on the old near crust facets and PST 80/100 on old near surface facets about 50 cm below the surface).

Photo 1: Small roller balls and pinwheels on a SE aspect at 9100 ft. 

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Calm
Air temperature trend: 
Warming