Southern San Juan
AvalancheJeff Davis · Feb 7, 2019 · Southern San Juan
Weather
The strong winter storm that was affecting the area moved in the morning. Strong winds persisted during the day as skies cleared.
Snowpack
Approximately 3" of water and 30" of snow fell in the area since Sunday. Winds during most of the storm were out of the southwest, but switched to the west northwest at the tail end of the storm. Temperatures during the first few days of the storm were mild bringing in heavy dense snow that seemed to stick well to the preexisting snow surface. Temperatures dropped during the end of the storm and the snow become less dense. Strong winds drifted the snow into piles over 4'deep in the alpine. Overall, we received a large load and strong winds that fell on a snowpack that was strengthening, but weakness persisted. Natural and explosive triggered avalanches on Thursdays show us that you can still trigger large and very large avalanches.
Avalanche
Natural avalanche triggered by wind-loading.