Up-Coming Events: January 26, 6 pm - 6th Annual Snow Ball Fundraising event put on by Friends of the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center and sponsored by Timberworks and Chitwood Energy Management at the Mt. Shasta City Park with Dinner, music, dancing, all types of beverages and tons of raffle and silent auction items. Best party of the year! January 27, Flying Squirrel Classic - Telemark and Rando fun race; costumes optional; backcountry demo gear available. Benefit for Friends of the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center and sponsored by The Fifth Season. Registration 11:30-12:30, race at 1:00 pm. Best fun race of the season! Special Note: The Everitt Mem. Hwy. to Bunny Flat is open. Castle Lake road is open to Castle Lake. Closure is likely during heavy storms. Avalanche Advisory for Thursday, January 24, 2008 at 7:00 am By Eric White The Details: This Season: We had an early thin snow pack with December bringing near normal precipitation and 3.5 feet of snow along with strong winds above tree line. Our precipitation is around 93% of normal since September 1. A strong storm series in early January deposited 4-8 feet of snow with major wind scouring above tree line. We are in a "La Nina" climate condition which often means wetter than normal winters in our area and expectations are for above normal precipitation into the spring of 2008. Weather Observations: We have cloudy skies with calm winds in town this morning, and it is currently 25F in Mt. Shasta and 29F in Dunsmuir. Mt. Shasta - We are measuring 64 inches of snow on the ground near tree line with no new snow over the last 24 hours. Our last snowfall was on Monday 1/21 where 3-4 inches accumulated. 1 inch of settlement has occurred over the last 24 hours and temperatures have ranged between 14F to 33F at 7000 ft. and it is currently a chilly 16F. Winds this morning were light below tree line from the S. Above tree line winds were around 10 mph from the SE and on the upper mountain winds were 20 mph from the E. Castle/Mt. Eddy - Mt. Eddy received no new snow and 1 inch of settlement in the last 24 hours. Our last snow fall was on Monday 1/21 where 2-3 inches of snow accumulated. We estimate around 5 ft. of snow on the ground. The temperature on Mt. Eddy this morning is 17F. Temperatures near Castle Lake have been between 18F-32F over the last 24 hours and currently are around 20F. Weather Forecast: The center of the current storm is near the SF Bay Area, bringing heavy precipitation to S California. It will bring snowfall to N California with 3-5 inches over the next 24 hours, starting this morning. The snow level will remain well below town over the next 24 hours. Another storm will add to the current situation Friday with much better orientation for Mt. Shasta and bring heavy snowfall Friday evening and Saturday morning with 2 feet possible. Storms over the next few days will focus south of the Oregon border through most of California. For today we can expect snow showers beginning in the late morning and continuing overnight. Temperatures at mid elevations (7-10,000 ft.) will warm into the mid 20's today. Winds below tree line will be around 10-15 mph from the SE and S today and return to the SE tonight. Above tree line winds will be from the S at 25 mph today and move to the SSE tonight . Snow Pack: Snow from our early January blizzard event has consolidated dramatically. A light storm over the MLKJ weekend brought a few inches of very light fluff without much wind effect sitting on top of firm snow. Surface hoar (a weak layer) has formed in many places over the last few days. Both of these will create a near perfect layer to propagate avalanches when slabs of snow form over the next several days and these weak layers may be more likely below 8000 ft. I received reports yesterday of easy failures on N aspects in the thin layer of Monday's snow. The avalanche danger is expected to increase over the next several days when 2-4 feet of snow falls. Over the next few days, watch for: wind loaded areas (more likely on northerly and easterly aspects), shooting cracks and whumpfing sounds, sensitive cornices, heavy snow fall (especially on Friday evening and Saturday morning). Some important thoughts: 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 backcountry and should travel accordingly. This advisory expires at midnight tonight. As always, use safe travel practices: travel with a partner, travel one at a time in suspect areas, go from one island of safety to another, choose safe routes, wear a transceiver, carry a shovel and probe, and know how to use your gear!