Heavenly, Northstar, and Mt Rose SAC Ski Day tickets are on sale now on our home page. SAC needs help to get the word out and to make these important fund-raisers successful. Click here to download a PDF of the advertising poster to hang in your community. - SAC Board of Directors
This advisory was posted on January 16th, 2009 at 06:43 AM and covers the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains between Yuba Pass on the north and Ebbetts Pass on the south. This advisory applies only to backcountry areas outside established ski area boundaries. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur. The information in this advisory is provided by the USDA Forest Service who is solely responsible for its content.
A map of the SAC forecast area is available on our home page.
Avalanche danger is LOW for all elevations and aspects. Normal caution is advised.
High pressure remains firmly in place over the forecast area. Easterly ridgetop winds increased about 10 mph overnight and will continue through today. Maximum daytime air temperatures will be a few degrees cooler than what was observed over the past few days. That said, air temperatures are still forecast to climb above freezing at all elevations. A weaker air temperature inversion is in place this morning with the coldest air once again below around 7,000'.
Observations from around the forecast area continue to indicate a stable snowpack. Southerly aspects hold thin to very thin snow cover while northerly aspects have a snowpack generally 3 to 6 feet deep in near and above treeline areas. Snow surface conditions are mixed and variable. Expect melt-freeze snow in sun exposed areas and either supportable or breakable crust in other areas. Surface snow that melted yesterday is expected to have refrozen overnight due to radiational cooling, despite above freezing air temperatures in many locations.
Melting of surface snow will occur in most sun exposed areas, especially around mid day in areas with direct southern exposure. Once areas transition from sun to shade, expect the snow surface to begin to refreeze. It is still January and the sun angle remains low, even though air temperatures are warm. Areas of wet snow or dry snow instability are not expected to occur today.
The bottom line:
Avalanche danger is LOW for all elevations and aspects. Normal caution is advised.
Brandon Schwartz - Avalanche Forecaster, Tahoe National Forest
| Today's Central Sierra Weather Observations: | |
|---|---|
| 0600 temperature at Sierra Crest (8,700 feet): | 32 deg. F. |
| Max. temperature at Sierra Crest past 24 hours: | 38 to 42 deg. F. |
| Average wind direction at Sierra Crest past 24 hours: | East |
| Average wind speed at Sierra Crest past 24 hours: | 32 mph |
| Maximum wind gust at Sierra Crest past 24 hours: | 58 mph |
| New snowfall at 8,200 feet past 24 hours: | 0 inches |
| Total snow depth at 8,200 feet: | 60 inches |
| 2 Day
Mountain Weather Forecast: |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
For 7000-8000 ft: |
|||
| Today: | Tonight: | Tomorrow: | |
| Weather: | Sunny skies. | Clear skies. | Sunny skies. |
| Temperatures: | 43 to 50 deg. F. | 22 to 32 deg. F. | 43 to 50 deg. F. |
| Wind direction: | E | E | E |
| Wind speed: | 10 to 15 mph with gusts to 25 mph in the morning. | Around 10 mph. | Around 10 mph with gusts to 25 mph in the morning. |
| Expected snowfall: | 0 in. | 0 in. | 0 in. |
|
For 8000-9000 ft: |
|||
| Today: | Tonight: | Tomorrow: | |
| Weather: | Sunny skies. | Clear skies. | Sunny skies. |
| Temperatures: | 40 to 47 deg. F. | 27 to 33 deg. F. | 40 to 47 deg. F. |
| Wind direction: | SE to E | E | E |
| Wind speed: | 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph. | 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph. | 15 to 25 mph with gusts to 35 mph. |
| Expected snowfall: | 0 in. | 0 in. | 0 in. |
|
The
Sierra Avalanche Center is a 501.3c not-for-profit organization working
in partnership with the Tahoe National Forest to provide avalanche
advisories. The vast majority of our funding comes from private
donations and our fund raising events. Our continued operation is
dependent on this fundraising. If you use this service with any
regularity, please consider making a tax deductible donation to the
Sierra Avalanche Center. Just click the button to donate via Paypal. It
is fast, safe and secure! Thank you!
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