Avalanche Advisory for 2013-03-01 06:55:20

Warm air is in the area this morning and will remain through Saturday. We'll havea areas of fog and clouds this morning, but otherwise it should be mostly sunny today with light winds above and below treeline. While the climate predication center is indicating below normal temperatures and precipitation for the rest of the winter, a few disturbances should occur in the next week or so. The first wave of weather will enter the area Saturday night as rain with snow levels upwards of 7-8,000 feet. Cold air will drop snow levels by Sunday, though showers will be diminishing by then. Up to .25" of water is expected by Sunday morning. We should see a few more moments of "winter" like weather next week, but nothing to get excited about at this point.

WEATHER STATIONS - (last 24 hours):
In Mt. Shasta City at 0500, we have partly cloudy skies and a current temperature of 35 F.
On Mt. Shasta:  In the Old Ski Bowl (7,600') on the south side of Mt. Shasta, we have a current temperature of 32 F. Snow on the ground totals 95"  inches with no new snow and 5" settlement since last Sunday. Temperatures have ranged from 28 F to 39F.  At Grey Butte (8,000') on the south side of Mt. Shasta winds averaged 12 mph from the NW with a max gust of 21 mph from the NW. The current temperature is 34 F and temps have ranged 28 F to 37 F.
Castle/Mt. Eddy:   Castle Lake - Castle Lake is hosting a current temp of 37 F. In the last 24 hours temperatures have ranged from 33 F to 48 F. Snow depth measures 44" inches with no new snow and 3" settlement since last Sunday.  On Mt Eddy, we have 62" inches of snow on the ground with no new snow and 2"  settlement since last Sunday. The current temperature reads 37 F with temps ranging from 36 F to 41 F. Winds have been SW, averaging 2 mph and gusting to 5 mph from the SW.

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. Our neighbors, the Sierra Nevada, has recorded the driest winter on record. We currently have 6-10 feet of snow above 6,500 ft. Since September 1st, Mt Shasta sits at 74% of normal, 22.55" recorded; normal 30.17". For 2013, we sit at 12% of normal with 1.85" recorded and 14.29" 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.