Northern San Juan

Snowpack

Ski Patrol · Jan 21, 2017 · Northern San Juan

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Weather

Just under 6" new at PHQ since 0700 this morning and the 2 ½ day storm total stands at 10". Winds were light and northeasterly this AM, but swung around to the SW around noon and have been running 20-25 G40-45 for the past few hours. The wind shift was accompanied by about an hour of S3, which has backed off to S1 for the past few hours. While the radar is clearing out, there is currently a nice fetch of moisture working its way up the San Miguel. Also, a correction to this morning's obs: the .5" storm total referenced in the discussion referred to .5" of SWE.

Snowpack

Avalanche conditions are similar to yesterday, with storm slabs cracking, propagating and running easily with ski pressure. These slides have remained small for the most part. Explosives work this AM on Sunset and Bald 6 yielded similar results in the storm snow.