Northern San Juan
AvalancheKrista Beyer · Feb 3, 2025 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Temperatures in Silverton reached a high of 54 degrees today with SNOTEL sites recording max temperatures of 48 degrees at 11,000 ft. Yesterday maximum temperatures in Silverton were 47 degrees with weather stations at 11,000 ft recording temperatures up to 39 degrees.
Snowpack
I continue to find a wet-over-cold snow setup on all aspects at lower elevations. I dug on a south-southwest slope around 11,000 ft to see how warm temperatures are impacting our snowpack. After a month of cold temperatures weakening a shallow snowpack, warm temperatures are wetting snow from the top down creating a layer of moist cohesive grains over weak facets averaging 2mm in size with grains as large as 4mm. One thing to note is the absence of free water moving through the whole snowpack in the area I dug. In addition, I failed to observe any strong or thick melt-freeze crusts within the snowpack. Also of note, there's a visible layer of dust out by Animas Forks.
Avalanche
A widespread wet cycle occurred in the vicinity of CR2 on Sunday caused by above-average temperatures. Small to large avalanches were observed on many aspects primarily near and below treeline. The Eureka/CR2 corridor often maintains a shallower snowpack, sheltered low-elevation terrain, and steep rocky geology; all things that often make this area one of the first to see natural instabilities due to warming and loading. This event is no exception and highlights the vast changes our snowpack is making despite limited snowfall in the past month.