Avalanche Advisory for 2013-02-24 07:15:54

A clearing trend in general will begin today with high pressure building into the work week. Temperatures are slightly warmer this morning and will persist through the day, however another brief cold front is behind and temps will cool again late tonight. A slight disturbance will drop down into the area for Monday, but this storm is expected to be even weaker than the one we just had. I would expect snow levels to start near 5,000 feet and lower to 2,500 to 3,000... Precip totals look meager, around .01 inches of water....which probably means a trace of snow. Snow flurries could continue through Monday, though from the NWS discussion yesterday, "spring-like" conditions will ensue for the latter part of the week. Words that are not exactly music to a skiers ear...especially in February! Lastly, northwest flow will continue to bring us moderate to strong winds above treeline on the mountain, at least through Tuesday.

WEATHER STATIONS - (last 24 hours):
In Mt. Shasta City at 0500, we have clear skies and a current temperature of 27 F.
On Mt. Shasta:  In the Old Ski Bowl (7,600') on the south side of Mt. Shasta, we have a current temperature of 16 F. Snow on the ground totals 100"  inches with no new snow and little settlement. Temperatures have ranged from 10 F to 27F.  At Grey Butte (8,000') on the south side of Mt. Shasta winds averaged 15 mph from the NW with a max gust of 71 mph from the NW. The current temperature is 24 F and temps have ranged 10 F to 25 F.
Castle/Mt. Eddy:   Castle Lake - Castle Lake is hosting a current temp of 17 F. In the last 24 hours temperatures have ranged from 17 F to 29 F. Snow depth measures 47" inches with no new snow and little settlement.  On Mt Eddy, we have 66" inches of snow on the ground with no new snow and little settlement. The current temperature reads 23 F with temps ranging from 16 F to 24 F. Winds have been SE, averaging 5 mph and gusting to 17 mph from the SE.

THIS SEASON:    A brief re-cap of the snow season thus far in Mt. Shasta... Leading up until now, September and October were warm and dry with September recording exactly zero precipitation. November remained warmer than normal with precipitation almost double normal values, 9.16" vs. 5.08". A local weather COOP observed the 2nd wettest November on record. December started out wet and warm, but temperatures cooled and brought snow to very low elevations. Since our avalanche cycle near Christmas, we've had a few small storms that brought some amounts of snow to the area, but did not produced any notable avalanches. January was below normal for precipitation with a long period of high pressure and sun that kept skiing conditions somewhat meager. We've had a few storms lately that has brought a pittance of wintery weather, but nothing to write home about!  The area has been under siege by high pressure overall giving us blue bird days for the most part. Feb 7/8 gave us up to 11" of new snow followed by moderate NE winds. Most recently, on 2-22 a trace to and inch of snow fell in the area. High and dry weather is expected for the next week and potentially the rest of the month. We currently have 6-10 feet of snow above 6,500 ft. Since September 1st, Mt Shasta sits at 78% of normal, 22.55" recorded; normal 28.81". For 2013, we sit at 14% of normal with 1.85" recorded and 12.93" normal.

This advisory does not apply to Ski Areas or Highways and is for the Mt. Shasta, Castle Lake and Mt. Eddy back country. Use this information for guidance only. You may find different conditions in the back country and should travel accordingly. This advisory expires on midnight of the date it was posted unless otherwise noted.