Avalanche Advisory Archive Pre-2016

Date Issued:2016-03-11
Danger:1
Trend:3
Probability:2
Size:1
Problem:3
Discussion:

The National Weather Service Forecasts-

TODAY...BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE AFTERNOON. NUMEROUS RAIN
SHOWERS EARLY IN THE MORNING. SNOW LEVEL 1100 FEET. HIGHS AROUND 46. EAST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH DIMINISHING IN THE MORNING.

TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. PATCHY FOG LATE. LOWS AROUND 32.
NORTHEAST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

SATURDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND 45. NORTHEAST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH. GUSTS TO 35 MPH NEAR DOWNTOWN JUNEAU AND DOUGLAS.

SATURDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. ISOLATED RAIN SHOWERS. LOWS
AROUND 34. NORTHEAST WIND 10 MPH.

Yesterday started at near freezing temperatures at the Mt Roberts Tram summit and just slightly below at Eaglecrest. They quickly warmed up to the daily high at 3pm we had 41f at the Mt Roberts Tram Summit and 38f mid mountain at Eaglecrest. By 6pm temperatures were back to 33f at the Tram when the precipitation started. By 11pm we were back to 32f.

The snowpack settled during the warmth of the day and at the tram we lost 2cm overall even though we picked up 2cm of new snow from 2.0mm of precipitation. Eaglecrest was much the same. We lost 1cm of snow overall even though we picked up 1cm of new from 1.8mm of precip.

Winds remain considerable. Yesterday we loaded the urban start zones a bit with very shallow slabs in places. Today we are more cross loading. Tram winds are E20-30 gusting to 35mph. Eaglecrest is slightly stronger with SE 25-30, gusting to 45mph.

Once again we have only picked up about \" of snow overall in the last week. This is resting on a solid well consolidated base.

The diurnal fluctuations have been getting us above freezing and back slightly below every day adding strength to the snowpack.

Windloading remains an issue. You may see shallow windslabs in leeward areas today with strong winds and a little snow to more.

The forecast today calls for drying out and little to no rain through the day. Winds are to diminish throughout the day as well. Due to this fact those windslabs will probably not naturally avalanche but may be trigger sensitive in places.

If we see much sun today with the clearing and warming we may see small point release avalanches as this new snow cleans itself off of rocks, trees, and steep unsupported slopes.

Avalanche danger is still low today even though with much sun natural avalanches may become possible and human triggered avalanches may be possible in isolated windloaded locations.

Avalanche danger is expected to stay much the same with mild temps and no precip in the forecast.

Tip:

Here is a link to an interesting article called \"Different Ways for Different Days.\" How to manage 4 common types of instability.

http://avalanche.org/moonstone/DecisionMaking/DifferentWaysDifferentDays.Lundy.TAR29.3.pdf