Northern San Juan
AvalancheAnn Mellick Jeff Davis · Apr 12, 2019 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Sunny and cold to start. Strong solar radiation made the day feel warmer than the thermometer reflected. Calm winds, even in alpine
Snowpack
8 inches of snow fell Thursday on Red Mountain Pass bringing the storm total to 17 inches in past two days. Strong winds associated with the storm drifted the new snow into drifts up to 30 inches deep. The new snow is generally bonding well to the old snow surface, but we did trigger 2 small loose avalanches on steeper slopes. Near ridgelines localized wind stiffened slabs were observed, but were not large/contiguous enough to be harmful. The snow was settling rapidly under the strong sun. Gloppy snow observed at lower elevations and a few loose avalanches were triggered naturally as snow fell off rocks on sunny slopes.
Avalanche
Only slides noted were relatively harmless dry loose slides triggered by sunshine on the new snow.