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Location Name: 
Green Butte
Region: 
Mt. Shasta
Date and time of observation: 
1:00pm
Observation made by: 
Forecaster
Red Flags:

Location Map

Snowpack Observations

Details

Observations from Green Butte and Sun Bowl area

Everitt Memorial Highway is open! With such exciting news, I was eager to get above treeline and assess upper mountain conditions. The most obvious weather trend today was just how strong the sun was. Temperatures exceeded freezing by 9am this morning. Firm surface conditions began to soften right away, especially on solar aspects. By 12pm, solar aspects softened considerably, with firm, supportable snow underneath. Extensive surface runnels continue up to 9,000 feet.

Winds remained light out of the west, with occasional light to moderate gusts. 

Climbers could be seen on the upper mountain. Climbers reported a few conditions of note from above 9,000 feet:

Firm, supportable conditions continued from Bunny Flat to Helen Lake. Above Helen Lake, the surface became punchy and slow moving. Winds strengthened above 10,000 feet. Sastrugi and wind effected snow was abundant near the summit

No recent signs of avalanche activity could be seen today. Older D1-2 wet loose avalanches could be seen on the NW aspect of Gray Butte.

  • Observation Location: Green Butte - Top of Sun Bowl
  • Elevation: 9,400 feet
  • Date: 20230414
  • Time: 1300
  • Observer: S. Clairmont
  • Sky Conditions: Clear (CLR)
  • Current Precipitation: None
  • Air Temperature: 36 °F
  • Surface Penetration: Ski penetration (PS) = 0 in (0 cm), boot penetration (PF) = 1 in (2 cm)
  • 24-hour New Snow Depth (HN24): 0 in (0 cm)
  • Wind Direction: W
  • Wind Speed: Light (L), 1-16 mi/hr, twigs in motion

Weather Observations

Statistics

Location Name: 
Old Ski Bowl
Region: 
Mt. Shasta
Date and time of observation: 
2:00pm
Observation made by: 
Forecaster
Red Flags:
warming

Location Map

Snowpack Observations

Details

Observations from the Old Ski Bowl this afternoon

Weather Trends:

  • Winds remained calm to light out of the west below, near and above treeline, increasing to moderate and strong at higher elevations. Strong winds were observed above 8,500 feet. No wind transport could be seen.
  • The sky remained 75% obscured by clouds, with the majority of the clouds centered on Mount Shasta. Cloud level hovered around 9,000 feet. Wave clouds could be seen all around the mountain (today was a great day if you like looking at clouds). 
  • Temperatures were far above freezing. Gray Butte weather station recorded a temp of 46 degrees F at 2pm. 

​​Snowpack Observations:

  • At around 8,000 feet, boot penetration was around 30 cm. We measured about 6 inches of super saturated snow on top of 5 inches of light, and dry old snow. This all sits on top of a crust that developed prior to the April 6/7 storm.
  • Strong wind at higher elevations on Mount Shasta was helping to keep snow surface temps slightly cooler, resulting in a little less saturation than surrounding areas.
  • Roller balls were seen on all aspects in below and near treeline terrain.
  • A few natural wet loose avalanches were witnessed near treeline on northwest facing terrain.
  • A faint crown could be seen on the ridge of Powder bowl. The crown spanned the entire width of the bowl, with moderate amounts of debris in the runout. This avalanche was most likely a storm slab that released on Thursday night or Friday due to the recently fallen new snow.



     
  • Observation Location: Old Ski Bowl
  • Elevation: 8,000 feet
  • Date: 20230409
  • Time: 1400
  • Observer: S. Clairmont, E. Falconer
  • Sky Conditions: Broken (BKN)
  • Current Precipitation: NO
  • Air Temperature: 46 °F
  • Surface Penetration: boot penetration (PF) = 12 in (30 cm)
  • Total Snow Depth (HS): 200 in (508 cm)
  • 24-hour New Snow Depth (HN24): 0 in (0 cm)
  • 24-hour New Snow Water Equivalent (HN24W): 0 in (0 cm)
  • Wind Direction: W
  • Wind Speed: Light (L), 1-16 mi/hr, twigs in motion

Weather Observations

Statistics

Location Name: 
Cliff Lake
Region: 
Mt Eddy
Date and time of observation: 
2:00pm
Observation made by: 
Forecaster
Red Flags:
avy
warming

Location Map

Snowpack Observations

Details

Three of us quested up the south fork of the Sacramento River in hopes to check on the Mt Eddy weather station and gain some snowpack observations.

Weather trends:

  • Winds remained light to moderate out of the west. Wind transport was not observed. Cloud cover hovered around 75%, with some clearer conditions at lower elevations. Dense fog was encountered in some areas.
  • Temperatures remained well-above freezing throughout the entire outing.
  • Up to 6,000 feet, surface snow was very soft, moist, unsupportive, and contained runnels. Snow quality slightly improved above 6,000 feet, although not by much.
  • The cloud line hovered around 7,000 feet. 

Observations from the Cliff Lake area:

Signs of wet instability were abundant. A surprising amount of avalanche activity has occurred above Cliff Lake on north facing terrain. Virtually every steep slope has released with some sort of wet avalanche. From the lake we could see roller balls, point-release wet loose, and wet slab avalanches. Crowns ranged from a few inches to a foot deep, spanning a few hundred feet wide. All avalanche activity was natural. A lot of this had likely occurred today, we witnessed multiple wet loose avalanches just in the period we were observing. I suspect the slab avalanches happened yesterday, with all the heavy wet snow that had fallen the night before.

Cornices on north facing terrain have grown to be impressively large in this area. I suspect with the approaching warm weather, these will begin to destabilize.

Unfortunately, we were thwarted from the Mt Eddy weather station due to the poor conditions.

  • Observation Location: Cliff Lake
  • Elevation: 6,000 feet
  • Date: 20230408
  • Time: 1400
  • Observer: S. Clairmont, N. Meyers
  • Sky Conditions: Broken (BKN)
  • Current Precipitation: NO
  • Air Temperature: 38 °F
  • 24-hour New Snow Depth (HN24): 0 in (0 cm)
  • Wind Direction: W
  • Wind Speed: Light (L), 1-16 mi/hr, twigs in motion

Weather Observations

Statistics

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