Observations from Castle Pk

Location Name: 
Castle Peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 01/31/2015 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 57.8736" N, 120° 20' 12.84" W
See map: Google Maps
US



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

Wind slabs 4 to 10 cm (2 to 4 inches) deep were noted on NW aspects in near treeline terrain at 8,500' (photo 1). Very minimal amounts of wind transport were observed with slab creation having occurred on Jan 28 (photo 2). Slab/weak layer combination showed no evidence of instability in the areas traveled with skier triggered cracking highly localized and without propagation.

Areas of full shade all day have resisted snow surface melt with areas of shallow unconsolidated recent storm snow lingering. Sun exposed areas were in full melt-freeze regime. Wet surface snow of 2 to 4 cm (1 to 2 inches) was observed on SE-S aspects at 12:15 pm (photo 3). Convective cooling from NE winds slowed snow surface melt during the mid morning hours. By early afternoon, snow surface melt was occurring in nearly all sun exposed areas on SE-S-SW aspects.

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

Very minor amounts of blowing snow were noted during the strongest gusts. Not significant amounts of transport.