Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Saturday morning, March 14, 2020
The avalanche danger is generally LOW today. Watch for the new snow to become damp and possibly produce some wet snow "point release" avalanches if the sun stays out and clouds don't move in.
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Moderate
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High
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Weather and Snow
Current Conditions: Once again, the storm on Friday produced more snow than anticipated in some areas along the Skyline. The southern end certainly faired better than the northern end. You'll find about 4 inches of new snow on the northern half of the range. However, up to 10 inches stacked up in upper Ferron and upper 12 Mile canyons. Temperatures cooled into the mid 20s yesterday and the wind was not very strong during this storm. It was from the east on Friday and switched around to the southwest last night. It did pick up along the higher terrain a little bit early last night but didn't get real strong.
Mountain Weather: It looks like a nice morning but clouds should move in fairly soon and we may see some snowfall this afternoon with a trace to a couple of inches possible. High temperatures along the ridges will be around 30. Southwest wind looks like it will remain fairly light. Sunday looks like a nice day with more sun and slightly warmer temperatures. Yet another "closed low pressure system" is forming up off the coast of California and it looks like it might once again push moisture into our area in a southerly flow later next week.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
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Description
I don't have much concern with avalanches today. The wind wasn't too bad during the storm so I'm not anticipating many sensitive fresh drifts. Cooler temperatures should have helped freeze up the snowpack and limit any wet snow avalanche activity. That said, at this time of the season we always need to watch what happens with new snow as it starts heating. If we see more sun than I anticipate today, we may see some "point release" wet avalanches in the new snow. This issue would be more dangerous along the southern end of the range which received the most snow.
Otherwise, continue to use safe backcountry protocols.
  • Make sure everyone has a beacon, shovel, and probe and knows how to use them.
  • Only put one person on a steep slope at a time.
  • Don't stop and regroup at the bottom of steep slopes where avalanche debris may pile up.
Additional Information
This forecast is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.