Forecaster Observation - Piper Creek, Mission Mountains

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - Piper Creek, Mission Mountains
Region: 
Outside of the Advisory Area
Date and time of observation: 
Mon, 02/01/2016 - 13:00
Location Map: 

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

Visited a popular snowmobile area just outside the advisory area in the Mission Mountains. The snowpack seems quite similar to the rest of the advisory area. Total snow depth at 6200 feet was 190cm (75 inches). The late January rain crust was evident about 40 cm (16 inches) from the surface. The early January weak snow (facets) were located 108 cm (43 inches) from the surface. A layer of soft snow sandwiched between the late January rain crust fractured in stability tests (ECTs), but did not propagate across the column. 

We noted wind slabs on cross loaded ENE slopes with minor localized cracking. The location was fairly sheltered with a bit of cross-loading at about 5900 feet. However, the cross-loading was noticeable (see video).

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpit videos (tests, etc): 

February 1, 2016 - Cross-loaded terrain, Piper Creek, Mission Mountains

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Wind Direction: 
Northwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: 

Snowfall was intermittent throughout the day. Visibilty was poor to fair. Snowfall total throughout the day in this areas was about 2 inches.

Activity: 
Snowmobiling
Precip Rate: 
S -1; very light snowfall, trace to 0.5cm/hour