Corn Snow on Castle Peak

Location Name: 
South Side of Castle Peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Date and time of observation: 
Thu, 01/08/2015 - 11:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 21' 32.6412" N, 120° 20' 25.584" W
See map: Google Maps
US



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

The daytime warming and sunshine allowed 1-3 inches of soft, wet corn snow to form on the surface of sun exposed SE-S-SW aspects by 11 am this morning. At that time the snow below the surface remained supportable in most places above 7600 ft. By 11:30 deeper, wet, sticky, and less supportable snow had formed on these aspects below 7600 ft. On the more shaded areas on these southerly aspects and on the non-southerly aspects, the snow surface remained firm and frozen.

Photo 1: 2 inches of soft corn snow on a supportable base at 8400 ft. on a S-SE aspect at 10:55 am. Coordinates attached to this observation.

Photo 2: 10 inches of wet sticky snow on a less supportable base at 7500 ft. on a SW aspect at 11:25 am.

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
25% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
None
More detailed information about the weather: 

Some scattered thin high cirrus clouds in the sky.