Corn Snow on Castle Peak

Location Name: 
Castle Peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Tue, 04/04/2017 - 11:45
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 33.4116" N, 120° 20' 51.3852" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Obvious avalanche path
Terrain Trap
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

A supportable melt-freeze crust existed on the W-SW-S-SE aspects of Castle Peak until at least noon today above 7800 ft. 1-3 inches of soft wet corn snow had formed on top of this crust in many areas. By noon the melt freeze crust had melted enough to become unsupportable if you stepped off of your skis in sun-exposed areas below 7800 ft. In these areas at that time, the snow still remained ski supportable. Earlier in the day, these slopes had been firm due to last night's refreeze. Large deep holes down to flowing creeks existed in the area.

Photo 1: Deep holes down to flowing creeks

Photo 2: 1 to 2 inches of corn snow on top of a supportable melt-freeze crust on a SW aspect at 8200 ft. around 11:45 am

Photo 3: Ankle deep wet snow on a SW aspect around 7600 ft. around noon

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Cloud Cover: 
75% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
More detailed information about the weather: 

A widespread and thicker than forecast layer of cloud cover existed across the forecast area this morning. This likely slowed down the rate at which the snowpack softened and melted some today. 

Photo 4: Widespread cloud cover looking south from Castle Peak around 11:40 am

Photo 5: Sunny skies looking north from Castle Peak around 11:40 am