East Winds on Incline Lake Peak

Location Name: 
Incline Lake Peak
Region: 
Mount Rose Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sat, 02/11/2017 - 13:00
Location Map: 
United States
39° 17' 50.0784" N, 119° 56' 36.7368" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent avalanche activity
Whumphing noises, shooting cracks, or collapsing
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

Strong NE winds transported large amounts of snow near ridgelines on Incline Lake Peak today. Most wind slabs formed by these NE winds measured between 6 and 12 inches in depth with a few measuring closer to 2 ft. in depth. Ski kicks on wind-loaded W-S-SW and cross-loaded NW aspects triggered shooting cracks that extended up to 15 ft away from my skis. Another party reported a small wind slab avalanche on a cross-loaded east aspect (more info here). On the exposed N-NE-E aspects near ridgelines wind scouring left sastrugi and other wind textures but soft snow still existed.

In more sheltered near and below treeline terrain, soft unconsolidated snow existed on the surface. A few density changes existed in the storm snow, but snowpit data and general observations indicated that these layers are consolidating. 

Photo 1: Shooting cracks on a wind-loaded SW aspect. Larger shooting cracks occurred but the wind filled them in too quickly for photos. This photo is from the coordinates attached to this ob.

Photo 2: Settlement cracks around trees in sheltered below treeline terrain.

Video: NE winds transporting snow along the Incline Lake Peak ridgeline.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Snowpit videos (tests, etc): 

Strong NE winds transporting snow on Incline Lake Peak

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
75% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Strong
Precipitation: 
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Northeast
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: 

Stronger than forecast NE winds remained consistent throughout the day. They transported copious amounts of snow.