Mountain Weather 3/1/2016

CB Avalanche CenterWeather

Date: 03/01/2016

Unsettled weather will continue this week as a series of fast moving but weak shortwaves over ride the west coast ridge. We can expect partly to mostly cloudy skies, cool temperatures, moderate winds, but no significant snowfall accumulations for the next few days. The best chance for clear skies will be during a transitory ridge on Thursday.

Today

High Temperature: 30
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: W, NW
Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
Snow: 0

Tonight

Low Temperature: 20
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: W, NW
Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
Snow: 0

Tomorrow

High Temperature: 35
Wind Speed: 15-25
Wind Direction: W
Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
Snow: 0-1″

Mountain Weather

CB Avalanche CenterWeather

Date: 02/29/2016

We will see a change in the weather as a cold front will swing into Colorado this afternoon and evening. Expect a quick couple inches accompanied by gusty west winds. With a northwesterly exit to this disturbance, there is a chance the Kebler Pass and Paradise Divide areas may squeak out a few more inches than predicted. If anywhere can see higher snow totals, these areas could.

Looking into the week ahead, we will see increased cloudiness and flurries every other day, with a series of more promising storms lining up for the first full week of March.

Today

High Temperature: 33
Wind Speed: 15-25 G40
Wind Direction: W, NW
Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
Snow: 1-3″

Tonight

Low Temperature: 15
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: NW
Sky Cover: Mostly Cloudy
Snow: 0-2″

Tomorrow

High Temperature: 34
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: NW
Sky Cover: Decreasing clouds
Snow: 0″

Mount Axtell

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 02/28/2016
Name: Ian Havlick
Subject: Mount Axtell
Aspect: North, North East, East
Elevation: 9-12,000

Avalanches: none
Weather: Clear, calm, still cold start to morning but warmed nicely into upper 30s. strong solar.
Snowpack: SNowpack consisted of cold settled powder still on northerly facing terrain, with some thin temperature crusts in lower elevation trees. Dug one pit in a NNE facing, 40º slope in upper funnel of Pencil Coulior, 11,700ft… generally all large grained facets with 6mm surface hoar on top. F to 4F+..ECTX. some minor facet sluffing, and very isolated 2″ windslab from Tuesday’s snow and wind. generally stable.

20160228AxtellSH

Crested Butte area Snowpack

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 02/28/2016
Name: JSJ
Subject: CB area snowpack
Aspect: North, South
Elevation: 9-12,000

Avalanches: Semi-recent cornice fall on an East aspect ATL triggered a D2 Persistent Slab sometime in the past week.
Weather: clear, calm, warm
Snowpack: Southerlies NTL & ATL had 10-15cms of variably softened surface snow over a supportive crust at 1130. Windslabs, Dust, and Corn on Southerlies all seemed to be on the surface in the alpine and softened at different rates due to their varying densities. By 1300 these slopes were getting punchy and sloppy with SkiPen becoming about 30+cms. Northerlies are staying dry and are mostly old windslabs slowly faceting away on the surface, above mostly all facets on steep shaded slopes. Low angle BTL starting to get cooked by late Winter sun angles and high temps.

Mountain Weather

CB Avalanche CenterWeather

Date: 02/28/2016

Chalk up another bluebird day, as the overcast skies from yesterday’s hiccup in the zonal flow moves eastward and sunny skies return. Expect light westerly winds today and tonight, before the only “storm” in the foreseeable future arrives Monday afternoon, bringing with it an increase in westerly winds and chance for light snow. Beyond Monday, a few ripples in the flow will bring clouds and flurries for the workweek ahead, but a pattern change looks a ways out.

Today

High Temperature: 38
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: W
Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
Snow: 0″

Tonight

Low Temperature: 22
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: W
Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
Snow: 0″

Tomorrow

High Temperature: 34
Wind Speed: 10-20 G40
Wind Direction: W, NW
Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
Snow: 2-4″

Frozen crusts

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Kebler Pass Area
Date of Observation: 02/27/2016
Name: Zach Guy
Subject: Frozen crusts
Aspect: South East, South, South West
Elevation: 10000-12000t.

Avalanches:
Weather: Few clouds increased to overcast by late morning, and decreased to few by sunset. Moderate SW winds, no snow transport. Mild temps
Snowpack: Thick and supportive crusts on southerly aspects remained mostly frozen today due to increased cloud cover and winds. Dusty snow surfaces softened by mid-day and lower elevation were soft in the p.m., with 2-3″ of ski pen. No signs of instability.

Redwell Obs

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 02/26/2016
Name: J Banks
Subject: Redwell Obs
Aspect: North, North East, East, South East, South, South West, West, North West
Elevation: 9,000-12,000 ft

Avalanches: No new cornice activity
starting to get sloughing 45* N facing in soft faceted snowpack.
Some small wet loose on Mineral (S) under the cliffs
Weather: Calm to light NW, Intense Solar
Snowpack:

Mountain Weather 2/27/16

CB Avalanche CenterWeather

Date: 02/27/2016

The high pressure ridge that has been steering our warm, dry weather flattens today, kicking off a more progressive pattern that will bring a series of shortwave disturbances through next week. The first wave is weak and steers too far north for any snowfall, but we will see winds increase and cloud cover build this afternoon into tonight on the southern edge of this fast moving system. Any lingering clouds should quickly clear out on Sunday morning in its dry and cool wake. Monday’s wave pushes better moisture further south, but lacks the oomph from frontal and dynamic lift. We could see 3-6″ of orographic snowfall in the typical favored locations, and light accumulations elsewhere by Tuesday.

Today

High Temperature: 38
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Increasing clouds
Snow: 0

Tonight

Low Temperature: 20
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: W
Sky Cover: Decreasing clouds
Snow: 0

Tomorrow

High Temperature: 32
Wind Speed: 5-15
Wind Direction: W, NW
Sky Cover: Mostly Clear
Snow: 0

Mountain Weather 2/26/16

CB Avalanche CenterWeather

Date: 2/26/16

High pressure strengthens over Colorado today, bringing our warmest day yet this week. Mountain temperatures will climb from the low 20’s this morning into the mid-30’s under sunny skies. A more progressive pattern develops this weekend into next week. The first shortwave system passes to our north late Saturday, bringing nothing more than increased winds and cloud cover. A stronger wave approaches on Monday, bringing a better chance for snowfall to the Elk Mountains.

Today

High Temperature: 35
Wind Speed: 3-13
Wind Direction: NW
Sky Cover: Clear
Snow: 0

Tonight

Low Temperature: 22
Wind Speed: 5-15
Wind Direction: W
Sky Cover: Clear
Snow: 0

Tomorrow

High Temperature: 37
Wind Speed: 10-20
Wind Direction: SW, W
Sky Cover: Partly Cloudy
Snow: 0

Virginia Basin

CB Avalanche Center2015-16 Observations

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 02/25/2016
Name: Zach Guy
Subject: Virginia Basin
Aspect: South, West
Elevation: 9,600-12,600 ft

Avalanches: Good views of a lot of the forecast zone today with no new avalanches observed.
Weather: Clear skies. Moderate NW wind in the morning eased to light by PM.
Snowpack: On South aspects N/ATL: The combination of thick upper crusts (~6″ thick) and faceting slab below made it difficult to find any kind of concerning PS structure. Crusts began to soften but remained supportable around 12:30 to 1:00, and were refreezing by 3:00.
On West aspects ATL: Probing around found some discontinuous pockets of lingering PS structure between faceted out slabs. Thin but supportive crusts on the surface (~1″ or so)
Start zones on NW aspects above treeline look mostly blown out down to dirt or bushes. Gulley features still holding enough snow to potentially have PS structure, but didn’t go onto any of those slopes.
No signs of instability observed.