6 ft of new snow on Mount Shasta!!

The Mount Shasta Avalanche Center issued a new bulletin today , 3 weeks after daily reports ended for the season. Very interesting reading, here are some highlights:<br>

Avalanche Statement updated Monday, May 9th, 2005<br>. . .<br>Since last Wednesday we have received well over 5.5 inches of water with close to 6 feet of snow above 10000 feet! There was wide spread avalanche activity some time Wednesday night thru Friday, and all the large avalanche paths on the south and west side of the Mountain slid during that time above 9000 feet. We are very concerned that we could have another large avalanche cycle as the snow and winds have filled in the starting zones in the last 48 hours and it looks like the same paths are ripe for another large event. This is a very unusual wet May, with very unusual avalanches.<br>. . .<br>At 7600 ft on the S side of Mt. Shasta temperatures over the last 24 hours have been between 24-33F with the current temperature at 24F. Over the last 24 hours 14 inches of new snow has fallen with a 48 hour total of 20 inches. The snowpack has settled 4 inches, bringing the current snow depth on the ground to 146 inches. We have received over 5.51 inches of water in the last 5 days.<br>. . .<br>Weather Forecast: Whewee we have been slammed the last five days and it looks like we may get a break in the action by late Tuesday. Currently, the cold part of the low pressure system sitting off the coast will continue to move onshore with another 3/4 of an inch of water expected in the next 24 hours. Snow levels will be around 4500 feet today dropping down to 4000 feet tonight. We may get another 6-8 inches of snow at the mid elevations by tomorrow morning. <br>. . .<br>Avalanche and Snowpack Conditions: Mother Nature has filled out the recipe card for avalanches the last five days. We have received over 6 feet at the upper elevations and 2-3 feet at the mid elevations, along with moderate SE to SW winds. Avalanches have the capability of running long distances due to the high moisture content. The snow levels at the start of the weekend were above 8500 feet dropping down to 5000 feet overnight.<br>. . .<br>AVALANCHE DANGER <br>Above Treeline I estimate the avalanche danger to be HIGH today (5/9/05). HIGH means that natural and human triggered avalanches are likely. Unstable slabs are likely on a variety of aspects and slope angles.<br>. . .

<br><br>Snowdepths on Mount Shasta were about 120% of normal as of May 1, and are now heading towards 150% of normal at the Sand Flat and Old Ski Bowl measurement sites (I finished updating my Cascade snow page over the weekend, with all of the May 1 numbers from southwestern BC to northern CA and a brief season summary: www.skimountaineer.com/CascadeSki/CascadeSnow.html). Lassen Peak and the Sierra Nevada have also gotten about 1-2 ft of new snow since last night, with another foot possible by Tuesday.

The cruel irony of this storm system for those of us in OR and WA is that the snow levels are lower far to the south of here, an unusual situation which has occurred repeatedly during this bizarre winter season. Snow levels are now 6000 ft or higher in WA and northern OR (it's raining at Paradise and Timberline Lodge), but are 5000 ft or lower from Crater Lake into northern CA, because a pool of cold air aloft has been pulled southeastward as part of the upper level low and surface low / cold front comprising this storm system. See these current forecasts (edited for brevity):

MOUNT RAINIER RECREATIONAL FORECAST - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SEATTLE WA<br> 530 AM PDT MON MAY 9 2005<br><br> .MONDAY... SNOW LEVEL 6000 FEET.<br> .MONDAY NIGHT... SNOW LEVEL 6000 FEET.<br> .TUESDAY... SNOW LEVEL 6500 FEET.<br> .TUESDAY NIGHT... SNOW LEVEL 5500 FEET.<br> .WEDNESDAY... FREEZING LEVEL 7500 FEET.<br><br><br> FORECAST FOR MOUNT SHASTA RECREATIONAL AREA - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MEDFORD, OR<br> 445 AM PDT MON MAY 9 2005<br><br> SNOW LEVEL FORECAST<br> TODAY...5000 FEET<br> TONIGHT...4500 FEET<br> TUESDAY...5000 FEET<br> TUESDAY NIGHT...5000 FEET<br> WEDNESDAY...5500 FEET

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That's sure is alot of snow. I have been considering doing a trip <br>down there early this summer with the goal of getting some turns on the West Face. After hearing of all this new snow I am <br>going to try hard to make it down there.<br><br>Sean

Thanks for the update Amar. It's good to hear.