The snow has taken quite a beating from the very strong east winds over the past three days. The snow surface is variable but supportable and you'll find excellent coverage across the zone. There is still some soft settled snow in north-facing shaded terrain but on sunny slopes, the snow is crusted or damp. The winds over the past two days have felt like a blow dryer, evaporating snow at an astonishing pace, particularly at low elevations - spring is here, for now, with strong sun and warm temperatures. For areas with cooler overall temperatures, I have less concern about wet avalanches, but Tony Grove barely got below freezing last night so the snow there is starting out warm this morning.
Despite the recent winds, we have not observed or gotten reports of any wind-drifted snow avalanches.
It's 29°F at the 8400' Tony Grove Snotel and there is 106" of total snow containing 125% of normal snow water equivalent (SWE). On Logan Peak, winds blowing from the east are still cranking in the 40's mph and gusting into the 50's and 60's mph. At the new Paris Peak weather station, it's 20°F, and the easterly winds are much calmer, blowing and gusting in the teens mph. The new Card Canyon weather station shows 89" of snow and it's 23°F.
Sunshine and warm temperatures dominate the forecast for today through Wednesday. Today, mountain high temperatures will range between 36°F and 45°F, depending on where you are in our vast zone. Winds will continue to blow from the east at 15 - 25 mph with gusts 30 - 40 mph, in the most prone terrain. Tomorrow looks the same with warmer temperatures and way less wind. The next chance for precipitation is Thursday.
