Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Saturday morning, March 27, 2021
The avalanche danger is generally LOW today. You can travel around through most terrain without the worry of triggering an avalanche.
The new snow should be mostly stable and shouldn't pose much threat.
Continue to use caution in the highest steepest north facing terrain especially where the snowpack is thin. There is a remote chance that a person could trigger an avalanche that breaks to the ground in this terrain.
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Moderate
Considerable
High
Extreme
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Weather and Snow
Current Conditions: The Skyline squeezed a couple more inches of snow out of the storm in showery snowfall over the last 24 hours. This brings totals since Wednesday to about 6 inches and totals for the week up to about 18". The newest snow was slightly damp on most aspects by Friday afternoon. Overnight temperatures we around 20˚F and west wind has been generally light with moderate speeds along the most exposed peaks.
Mountain Weather: It's looking like a nice day today with plenty of sun and temperatures getting into the low 30s in the higher terrain. Sunday looks similar with warmer temperatures yet. There is a very minor weather disturbance that will move through Monday night with the slightest chance for light snow and no accumulation expected. Aside from that, the weather looks very benign for the next week.
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Avalanche Problem #1
Normal Caution
Type
Location
Likelihood
Size
Description
During my mountain travel on Friday I did not find anything alarming in regards to avalanche danger. The new snow seems well behaved and is unlikely to cause any problems on its own. I dug down to the ground at a location with an elevation of 9500' to look at the old faceted sugar snow at the base. It has become damp and has gained some strength. It seems unlikely that a person would trigger an avalanche that breaks into those layers near the ground at that elevation. I am still curious about the state of those weak layers at elevations that are a little higher. I'm going to have a good look today. In the meantime, I'm still cautious about the steepest most radical northerly facing terrain above 10,000' in elevation especially where the snowpack is shallow.