Silver Valley - President's Day Weekend Observations

Location Name: 
West Willow Basin and Rabbit Gulch
Region: 
Silver Valley Area
Date and time of observation: 
Mon, 02/15/2021 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
47° 32' 17.2392" N, 115° 46' 6.42" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Public
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

This observation is a summation of three days of travel in the Silver Valley region spanning from West Willow basin to Upper Canyon Creek beyond Burke. Overall, 10 pits and numerous travel observations between 4400' and 6300' on N, NW, NE, S, and SW aspects were recorded. All observatons yielded consistent results supporting previous forecasts of overall instability on our resident PWL, the buried surface hoar. Also, wind slab formation was observed and the new snow from last week is on top of a layer of graupel that presenting as increasingly reactive above 5000'. Below roughly 5000' the buried surface hoar appears to be bonding due to warmer temps, but over 5000' all snowpack analysis demonstrated instability.

Near and above tree-line, wind slab formation was prevalent on both E and W aspects in the West Willow area, and also on N aspects off of Rabbit Gulch due to the wind direction change over the last 5 days. With the new snow today, there was problematic loading observed at all elevations on the already touchy snowpack.

Beware of the PWL and manage uncertainty by choosing lower angle terrain. Choose safe, have fun.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: