A warm storm will bring wet snow or rain and strong wind.
Expect avalanche danger to increase through the day where new snow accumulates.
New snow and wind will develop fresh wind slabs where snow will accumulate. These will be reactive to riders, especially near alpine ridges and cross-loaded features.
No new avalanches were reported, but observations remain limited.
On Tuesday, numerous natural, wet loose avalanches up to size 2 were observed. These avalanches occurred in steep, rocky south-facing terrain.
If you are heading into the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations via the Mountain Information Network.
Moderate amounts of wet snow in the alpine are forecasted for Saturday. This new snow will overlie a variety of surfaces, including a crust on south-facing aspects and wind-affected snow on north-facing terrain. The rain, expected at treeline and below, will likely transform the surface into soft, moist snow.
The mid-December crust is 150 to 250 cm deep. This crust is 30 cm thick and well-bonded to the snow above.
In general, the snowpack is well settled and right-side up.
Friday Night
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow or rain at treeline. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.
Saturday
Cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of wet snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.
Sunday
Cloudy. 10 to 15 cm of snow. 60 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.
Monday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
