A gorgeous day on Mount Shasta yesterday. Access via the Everitt Memorial Highway and Castle Lake roads is still closed. Siskiyou County is working to open the roads as soon as possible. The struggle remains with equipment breaking down and very deep snow. A 16-foot drift exists at Windy Point, just below Bunny Flat.
Red flags of avalanche danger across the forecast area have been hard to come by. Snow from the incessant storms during the first few weeks of January has settled out nicely. Snow surfaces below and near treeline remain smooth and soft. A few sun crusts are beginning to form on sunny aspects. Surface hoar is widespread in low-lying areas. Snow and rime plastered trees started to unload yesterday, mid-afternoon. Above treeline, the recent north wind has done a number on the snowpack. Widespread wind textured snow dominates. While plenty of wind slabs exist on the landscape, slabs have been unreactive to trigger. Yesterday, the wind was light at 10,000 feet on Green Butte Ridge. Overall, Mount Shasta is completely plastered in snow and rime and looking quite beautiful! In the last 24 hours, temperatures have ranged from 13° to 31° F. Wind has blown primarily out of the WNW and ENE, averaging 7 mi/hr with gusts to 36 mi/hr. Snow on the ground near treeline measures ~147 inches.
Clockwise from top left: 10k ft on Green Butte Ridge looking south / Avalanche Gulch, 50/50 Flat, Casaval Ridge / Widespread wind textured snow above treeline / Upper Avalanche Gulch [Photos: N Meyers on 01.20.23]
The current satellite shows clear skies over most of the region, with fog persisting in some of the valleys. A cold front is visible offshore and will arrive later this morning, but the bulk of the precipitation will be well to the north. Wind out of the north to northwest wind will pick up later today. Increased mixing from the front will help clear out low clouds and valley fog, and daytime highs will be a bit warmer. Our weather pattern in the longer term will be dominated by a high pressure ridge, centered far offshore. With a persistent ridge, there is a potential for stagnant air in the valleys. Night and morning valley low clouds will be a daily occurrence. Otherwise, expect the skies to be clear. Longer term, there is considerable uncertainty in whether we will be in a northerly, westerly or southwesterly flow pattern. In either of the three cases, we would likely see only a modest increase in weather activity.
