This avalanche advisory is provided through a partnership between the Tahoe National Forest and the Sierra Avalanche Center. This advisory covers the Central Sierra Nevada Mountains between Yuba Pass on the north and Ebbetts Pass on the south. Click here for a map of the forecast area. This advisory applies only to backcountry areas outside established ski area boundaries. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur. This advisory expires 24 hours after the posted time unless otherwise noted. The information in this advisory is provided by the USDA Forest Service who is solely responsible for its content.

The low-pressure off the west coast tracked farther south than originally predicted, and most of the snow and moisture went with it leaving only a trace to 1 inch of snow across the forecast area over the last 24 hours. A second low-pressure moving southwest from ID/MT should start to impact the forecast area this afternoon and should bring some snow to the area tonight and tomorrow. The forecast calls for 5-11 inches of accumulation by tomorrow afternoon above 7000'. This low-pressure should also bring colder temperatures to the region over the next 24 hrs. The winds associated with this system should shift to the west and remain moderate through tomorrow.

Observations: 

Yesterday observations on Mt. Judah indicated a mostly stable snowpack. The areas of melt-freeze snow had undergone a solid overnight refreeze and remained firm throughout the day. Some pockets of shallow, soft snow still remained on the sheltered northerly aspects. On most of the northerly slopes a breakable melt-freeze crust with a thin layer of weak, sugary snow beneath it existed up to 8000'. A layer of surface hoar also had formed on the open northerly aspects and remained intact as of 4pm yesterday all the way to the summit of Mt. Judah (photo). With less wind than normal forecasted, this layer could get buried and turn into a worrisome weak layer. Other observations this week point to a mostly stable snowpack with a variety of surface conditions across the forecast area.

Avalanche Concerns:

Continued refreezing of the melt-freeze snow, continued consolidation and settlement in the snowpack, and very little new snow in the last 24 hrs should keep any avalanche activity involving the current snowpack unlikely today. As the snow starts to accumulate over the weekend, new slabs will start to from on top a variety of old snow surfaces ranging from frozen crusts to surface hoar to soft, unconsolidated snow. Any of these old surfaces could act as weak layer. Expect the avalanche danger to increase as new snow accumulates over the next 24 hours. How much the danger increases will depend on how much new snow actually falls and how well it bonds to those old snow surfaces.

The bottom line:

The avalanche danger will remain LOW for all elevations and aspects today. Expect the avalanche danger to increase over the 24 hours if the forecasted snow impacts the Central Sierra.

Andy Anderson - Avalanche Forecaster, Tahoe National Forest

Weather Observations from along the Sierra Crest between 8200 ft and 8800 ft:

0600 temperature:	20 deg. F.
Max. temperature in the last 24 hours:	31 deg. F.
Average wind direction during the last 24 hours:	Southwest shifting to northeast last night
Average wind speed during the last 24 hours:	Southwest: 10 mph | Northeast: 0-5 mph mph
Maximum wind gust in the last 24 hours:	35 mph
New snowfall in the last 24 hours:	1 inches
Total snow depth:	66-102 inches

Two-Day Mountain Weather Forecast - Produced in partnership with the Reno NWS

For 7000-8000 ft:
	Saturday:	Saturday Night:	Sunday:
Weather:	Mostly cloudy with isolated snow showers in the morning. Snow showers should become slightly more widespread this afternoon. 30% chance of precipitation.	Cloudy with a 60% chance of snow showers.	70% chance of snow.
Temperatures:	29-36 deg. F.	12-19 deg. F.	23-30 deg. F.
Wind direction:	Southwest shifting to the west	West	West
Wind speed:	Light this morning increasing to 10 mph with gusts to 25 mph this afternoon	10-15 mph with gusts to 30 mph	10 mph with gusts to 25 mph
Expected snowfall:	trace in.	2-4 in.	3-6 in.
For 8000-9000 ft:
	Saturday:	Saturday Night:	Sunday:
Weather:	Mostly cloudy with isolated snow showers in the morning. Snow showers should become slightly more widespread this afternoon. 30% chance of precipitation.	Cloudy with a 60% chance of snow showers.	70% chance of snow.
Temperatures:	27-33 deg. F.	11-17 deg. F.	21-27 deg. F.
Wind direction:	Southwest shifting to the west	Southwest	West
Wind speed:	10 mph with gusts to 30 mph	10-20 mph with gusts to 40 mph	10-15 mph with gusts to 45 mph decreasing to 35 mph in the afternoon
Expected snowfall:	trace in.	2-4 in.	3-7 in.