Avalanche Advisory: Sunday - Dec 13, 2020

THIS AVALANCHE ADVISORY EXPIRED ON December 14, 2020 @ 6:14 am
Avalanche Advisory published on December 13, 2020 @ 6:14 am
Issued by Josh Feinberg - Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center

*Snowpack Update Sunday Dec 13th

Despite the snowpack being extremely shallow in the backcountry, and in most places still unrideable, fresh windslabs in wind loaded areas at mid to upper elevations are likely sensitive to human triggering. Backcountry sensors are reporting trace amounts up to 6" of new snow falling Friday night, with strong winds out of the west.  8-16" deep wind slabs sitting on shallow weak faceted snow were reported to be found in un-skied wind loaded areas mid-montain on Mammoth on Saturday.  

4-12" of new snow is expected to fall Sunday afternoon into the night with strong winds again out of the W to SW, continuing to build more dangerous wind slabs that could trigger naturally.  Even a small avalanche resulting in a fall during these low-snow conditions could result in injury due to all the exposed and shallowly buried obstacles.

Daily advisories will begin as soon as the snow coverage is enough for forecasters to travel safely.  Hopefully tonight's snow will do the trick!         

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Season snowpack update posted prior to this past week:

BRING ON THE SNOW! 

Two storms in early and mid November provided us with a glimpse of winter and brought over a foot of snow to the central and northern parts of the forecast zone. While this was enough for some eager beavers to sneak in a few turns in isolated areas, conditions are extremely thin and for the most part unrideable.  

ESAC is fully staffed and ready to begin issuing daily avalanche advisories as soon as we have enough snow on the ground to ride and ski.  In the meantime check our Observations Page for the latest field conditions, and follow some of these tips to get prepared!  

Check Your Gear!

  • Make sure your beacon shovel and probe are in good working order. 
  • Pull out and Inspect your equipment for damage and fix or replace as necessary.
    • For a great list of common things to look for when inspecting your skies, boots, and bindings follow this link. 
    • Don't Forget to inspect other equipment like your helmet, goggles, clothing and backpack. 

Brush up on Avalanche Rescue Skills!

  • Have a buddy (socially distant) hide a beacon in the bushes and practice searching. 
  • Contact your local avalanche education provider to inquire about upcoming courses.
  • Check out our education page HERE for a wide variety of free online education resources.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

You raised $32k for your avalanche center at the annual fundraiser
(our most successful event ever!)

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Weather and CURRENT CONDITIONS
Two-Day Mountain Weather Forecast Produced in partnership with the Reno NWS
For 8,000 ft. to 10,000 ft.
Sunday Sunday Night Monday
Weather: Mostly cloudy. Snow in the afternoon. Snow levels below 7000 feet increasing to 7000 feet in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 85%. Mostly cloudy. Snow in the evening, then scattered snow showers after midnight. Snow levels below 7000 feet. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Partly cloudy. Snow levels below 7000 feet. Chance of precipitation is 10%.
Temperatures: 33 to 41. deg. F. 13 to 19. deg. F. 21 to 29. deg. F.
Mid Slope Winds: Southwest 20 to 35 mph. Gusts up to 50 mph increasing to 70 mph in the afternoon. West 20 to 35 mph with gusts to 65 mph. Northwest around 15 mph with gusts to 30 mph in the morning becoming northeast in the afternoon.
Expected snowfall: 70% probability of 2 to 4 inches. 30% probability of 4 to 6 inches. | SWE = 0.20-0.45 inch. in. 70% probability of 2 to 4 inches. 30% probability of 4 to 6 inches. | SWE = 0.15-0.40 inch. in. 10% probability up to 1 inch. 90% probability no accumulation. | SWE = none. in.
Over 10,000 ft.
Sunday Sunday Night Monday
Weather: Mostly cloudy. Snow in the afternoon. Snow levels below 7000 feet increasing to 7000 feet in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Mostly cloudy. Snow in the evening, then scattered snow showers after midnight. Snow levels below 7000 feet. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Partly cloudy then becoming sunny. Snow levels below 7000 feet. Chance of precipitation is 10%.
Temperatures: 26 to 32. deg. F. 9 to 15. deg. F. 15 to 21. deg. F.
Ridge Top Winds: West 25 to 40 mph with gusts to 70 mph becoming southwest and increasing to 45 to 60 mph with gusts to 95 mph in the afternoon. West 40 to 60 mph with gusts to 95 mph. Northwest to north 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
Expected snowfall: 70% probability of 2 to 4 inches. 30% probability of 4 to 6 inches. | SWE = 0.25-0.50 inch. in. 70% probability of 2 to 4 inches. 30% probability of 4 to 8 inches. | SWE = 0.20-0.45 inch. in. 10% up to 1 inch. 90% probability no accumulation. | SWE = none. in.
Disclaimer
This Avalanche Advisory is designed to generally describe avalanche conditions where local variations always occur. This product only applies to backcountry areas located outside established ski area boundaries. The information in this Avalanche Advisory is provided by the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center, who is solely responsible for its content.

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