Wind Scouring and Soft Snow on Incline Lake Peak

Location Name: 
Incline Lake Peak
Region: 
Mount Rose Area
Date and time of observation: 
Tue, 03/28/2017 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 17' 40.0344" N, 119° 56' 21.4404" W
US


Red Flags: 

Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Cold E and NE winds and cool temperatures kept the snow mostly cold and frozen until at least 1 pm in this area today. NW-N-NE aspects held cold soft unconsolidated snow. Frozen breakable crusts on top of cold snow existed on E-SE-S-SW-W aspects above 8500 ft.  The E and NE winds were transporting some snow along the upper ridgelines and some scouring of the N-NE aspects near ridgelines had occurred. In the newly wind-loaded areas, drifts did not extend very far down from the ridgelines nor were they more than 6 inches in depth. Below 8500 ft. some small loose wet activity had started to occur by 1 pm near rocks on SE facing aspects. 

Photo 1: Wind scouring near the summit of Incline Lake Peak.

Photo 2: False color image of small loose wet point releases near rocks on a sun-exposed SE aspect at 8400 ft. 

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Northeast
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: