By Eric White The Details: This Season: Our season started late and has had higher winds than normal above tree line. Our precipitation is around 93% of normal since September 1. January brought several heavy and cold snow storms with mostly dry and warm weather during the first half of February and one strong storm near the end of February. Snow pack at lower elevations is above normal, near normal at tree line, and below normal above tree line due to wind scouring. February snow surveys locally show our snow pack below tree line at around 107% of normal and water content 96% of normal. We are in a strong "La Nina" climate condition which often means wetter than normal winters in our area. However, expectations for precipitation in the spring of 2008 are uncertain, with equal chances of above or below normal. Weather Observations: We have clear skies in town this morning with very light NE winds, and it is currently 37F in Mt. Shasta, 40F in Dunsmuir and 24F in McCloud Valley. Mt. Shasta - We are measuring 92 inches of snow on the ground below tree line with no new snow over the last 72 hours. 3 inches of settlement were measured over the last 24 hours with 11 inches over the last 3 days. Temperatures have ranged between 24F to 51F at 7000 ft. and it is currently 24F. Winds this morning are estimated at 10 mph below tree line from the E. Above tree line winds are estimated at 10 mph from the NE and on the upper mountain winds are estimated at 15-20 mph from the NW this morning. Castle/Mt. Eddy - Mt. Eddy received no new snow and 3 inches of settlement in the last 24 hours. The snow has settled 8 inches over the last 3 days. We have around 6 ft. of snow on the ground. The temperature on Mt. Eddy this morning is 32F. Temperatures near Castle Lake have been between 25-56F over the last 24 hours and currently are around 25F. Weather Forecast: High pressure will bring mostly clear skies today and warm temperatures. A weak storm will arrive Friday afternoon and bring a dusting to 1 inch of snow above 6000 ft, with light rain in town and temperatures dropping, bringing a few snow flakes in town early Saturday morning. The weather will improve Saturday and Sunday with some clouds on Monday. Dry and warm weather will return next week. For today, we can expect sunny skies with some high clouds. Temperatures will warm to the upper 40's to low 50's at low elevations and into the upper 30's to 40 degrees at mid elevations. Winds will be fairly light and variable below and near tree line, moving to the S and SE tomorrow morning and increasing above tree line to 20 mph Friday morning. On the upper mountain today winds will 10-15 mph, gusting to 20 mph from the NW and W, then moving to the SW tonight and picking up to 35 mph tomorrow morning from the SW. Snow Pack: On Sunday, the rapid snow fall, moderate to strong winds and warming temperatures (which brought wet snow and rain on top of lighter snow) created some natural avalanches. Since then, sunny skies and warm day time temperatures have settled the snow and brought some point releases and sun balls on southerly aspects. I was in mashed potatoes yesterday near tree line but had reports of buttery corn below 9500 ft. on smooth wind protected areas. Many areas above tree line have some rippling wind patterns. Expect some breakable crust in the morning below tree line softening up by late morning. We have some minor concerns for small wind slabs on the upper mountain on many aspects due to shifting wind directions at the beginning of the week. Open areas at low elevations with the longest exposure to the sun will see some human triggered wet sluffs on slopes greater than 35 degrees. Consolidation of last weekends' snow is occurring quickly with percolation patterns visible in the snow below tree line. 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!