Heavy snowfall combined with wind this week has stressed a weak, underlying snowpack, and human triggered avalanches remain likely.
Weather
A fast moving and weakening closed low system will track eastward through northern AZ today bringing a small shot of snow to the La Sal and Abajo mountains. 2"-4" seem likely. SE winds will blow in the 15-20 mph range along ridge tops gradually swinging more easterly and finally shifting to the north on Saturday. We should see some clearing skies on Saturday before the next closed low system arrives late Sunday.
Snowpack Summary and General Conditions
The Abajo range picked up impressive amounts of snow this week. Camp Jackson reported 18" in 24 hours on Wednesday at 2" of SWE. This brings snow totals up to 29" of snow and 4.2" of SWE since Sunday. This is a huge load on top of a pre-existing weak snowpack structure. This has created dangerous avalanche conditions throughout the range and human triggered avalanches remain likely. Avoid slopes steeper than 30 degrees, especially those that have recent deposits of wind drifted snow.
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Weather and Snow