24 Hour Snow 0" Weekly Snow 0" Base Depth in Gold Basin 48" Wind S 15-20 mph Temp 24F

Weather: Pick a card, any card. There are a wide variety of model solutions out there for the incoming storm. The NAEFS ensemble is completely off the charts showing more than 20" of snow possible. The SREF is a little more down to earth with a 5"-10" forecast. Other models still lack agreement with the WRF predicting 5"-7" and the NAM only about 3"-5". I'm going to hang my hat on the WRF solution and call that optimistic. Today, look for mostly cloudy skies with a chance for showers developing late in the afternoon. South winds will blow in the 10-15 mph range with higher gusts along ridgetops. High temps will reach the low to mid 30's. Snow should fall through the night with showers lingering into Sunday morning. Things clear out by tomorrow night with dry conditions returning for the upcoming week.

Snowpack: If, for some reason, you've been following the forecast and or getting out in the mountains lately, you're no doubt aware of the deteriorating state of our snowpack. Winds have strafed and scoured the snow right down to the rocks on exposed slopes in upper elevations, and most snow surfaces are a mixture of crusts, Sastrugi, and hard wind-board. The extended period of dry weather, and cold, clear nights has resulted in fairly extensive faceting of the snowpack, particularly on shady aspects right around treeline and below. Though this soft, re-crystallized snow offers some of the best riding right now, it is extremely weak. On Thursday, Dave Garcia and Reed Kennard were able to trigger small, loose avalanches comprised entirely of weak, sugary, faceted snow. Read their observation here. These small slides are not particularly dangerous, but they are indicative of how weak the snowpack has become, and this is certainly cause for concern under a future snow load.

Wind, temperature, humidity on Pre Laurel Peak (11,700')