Too Much Snow??? Never
 

This is a heads up for anyone headed to Colorado in the next couple of weeks. The mountains have received an enormous amount of snow this past week to ten days on top of above average snow for this eason. Breckenridge over seven feet. Unfortunately it has also cause major traffic problems all along the major corridors. I-70 was closed several times this past week mostly from avalanches covering the road. Three across I-70 at different times and locations. Nearly 400 total in the state. Skiing is going to be terrific. And a couple of ski areas have already announced extending the ski season into May. Snowpack through out the state is approaching 50% over normal and about 100% over last year. It is going to be great finish to this years ski season. But could also extend mud season into early June. So plan accordingly.

Same thing in California -- I-80 and Hwy 50 have been closed several times and chain controls frequently in effect. A couple of the resorts out here have mentioned skiing til July 4.

I think it is the same moisture stream. Just flowing across and dumping out on the western slopes. Have not had much in Denver. Been an odd year in the snow pattern. There are avalanches in areas that have never had an avalanche or maybe one every 30 years. That just adds to the problem in that these avalanches bring down a lot of trees and rocks that just slows down the clean up.

We've had several Atmospheric Rivers one after another all winter. They dump a TON of rain in the Central Valley and snow on the west slope of the Sierra, then seem to regroup and dump more when they get to CO. There has actually been wetter/more snow than many El Niño years.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is showing "Considerable - High" danger across the entire state right now. The other day it was pegged at "Extreme" in the Central mountains and around Aspen. Could remain higher than normal into May or even June, who knows?

I was in an outdoor store on Friday and they were not renting snowshoes to anyone (not why I was there) due to the danger. Yes, it's been an unusual winter, with another blast coming Wednesday. Rivers will be high this spring. Enjoy the skiing!

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Last year, Mammoth's final ski day was August 3rd. This year, could there possibly be skiing on Labor Day??

I've recently learned that Atmospheric Rivers were the cause of what might be considered the worst natural disaster in California history. I'm sure you know about that!

Oops. That was August 6th and in 2017, not 2016. That was Mammoth's latest ever closing date, but perhaps this year will set a new record.

Nelson -- not sure which disaster you are talking about. 'Most deadly' or 'worst'? The most deadly haven't been rain related, but the floods in southern California in 1938 were HUGE. Though not a massive loss of life AFAIK.

I had an Great Aunt/Uncle living in the San Fernando Valley and an Uncle living in Venice in the late 30's and the stories they told were almost unbelievable.

The San Francisco earthquake in 1906 was the worst by far, but coming in second was the St Francis Dam Flood on March 12 in 1928 when approximately 450 people died.

https://www.britannica.com/event/St-...s-Dam-disaster

That is why I asked if Nelson meant 'deadliest' or largest/worst. Both the 1906 earthquake and the dam failure had massive loss of life but neither were caused by rain/the weather. The 1938 flood was caused by torrential rains and flooded vast areas of the LA basin, including the Valley and Orange County.

According to this book it was the floods of 1861-62:


Not sure if I should post copyrighted material, but I'll add that the book is a great read!


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I'm hoping that the major snows are over for 2019 in Oregon. About 3 weeks ago, I stomped a path around the house on snowshoes. I packed down the spot at the foot of the ladder that I have up next to the satellite dish. At the time I cleared the dish, there was 11" of snow on the roof. In the days after that, we got over 20" on top of the 11". I took several tons of snow off the roof to prevent the cracks in the ceiling from getting any bigger. You can quote me on this: " You cannot climb a ladder while wearing snowshoes."
Last week, a snowboarder died in a tree well on Mt. Bachelor outside Bend. In other news about Bend - Bend now has the last Blockbuster video store on earth.

Generally getting on a roof to remove snow is not among the smartest things you can do. Just yesterday two guys were pulling snow off a roof when the all snow came off. Buried one head down (he died) and second in is the hospital barely alive from frozen lungs.

In other news about Bend - Bend now has the last Blockbuster video store on earth.

Long way to go. I'd never get them back in time.

Here's an interesting piece from Yosemite's website about current avalanches there:

Please refer to the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center (ESAC) for the avalanche advisory for this part of the Sierra Nevada.

This week saw the most widespread avalanche cycle that we have seen this winter. During the storm of March 2 and 3 there was a density change that left 10+ inches of new snow overlying several inches of lower density snow that all fell on a firmer snow surface. The resulting storm slab was very touchy and easy to trigger. Natural avalanches were noted on most aspects and elevations. While the crowns of these slides were relatively shallow, they moved down slopes very quickly and ran far, entraining a lot of snow in the process. While doing a hazard assessment on Lembert Dome (our local test slope) during this storm, we triggered the avalanche in the photo. While traversing the flat ridge (safe zone) just east of Lembert Dome we felt the dense snow collapse the soft snow underneath and trigger the avalanche that then stretched the entire north side (about 1/3 of a mile) of the slope. There was an impressive powder cloud and debris pile as the avalanche came to rest in the flatter, forested slope below. Being able to witness these events in real time are a real advantage to living in an avalanche laboratory all winter long.

Presently there is heavy snow falling and the avalanche hazard is changing yet again. This winter we and the public are particularly grateful for ESAC’s daily reports. The center is an invaluable resource, and their daily avalanche forecasts have been spot on this year. We start each day by reading their forecast. Thank you ESAC for your commitment in helping keep the public safe!

https://www.nps.gov/yose/blogs/updat...rch-6-2019.htm

Back to the fun part of big snow--DS was in Aspen this weekend and it apparently was reported that LAST weekend was the best skiing in 5 years.

It is an amazing snow year. We've been relatively fortunate in Denver, that the snow has stayed in the mountains for the most part. DH is in hog heaven, skiing at Winter Park every week. The pictures of powder skiing in the trees (in bounds!) are truly impressive.

It's nice to know that Utah and California are getting the moisture they need, as well.

Let's just hope we get all the benefits of wildfire mitigation and water reserves, without a springtime of extra hot temperatures that can cause flash flooding.

Unlikely to provide wildfire mitigation. In fact, the water will cause greater growth of chapparal which is fuel for fires. We've had higher summer and Fall temps for several years and once the snow and rain stop, the drying will be rapid.