Expect a widespread natural avalanche cycle on Tuesday.
Avoid avalanche terrain.
Anticipate dry loose avalanches in steep, sheltered terrain where it hasn't settled into a slab. If you decide to enter the backcountry, manage your group appropriately and be aware of terrain traps around you.
The incoming storm has the potential to drop 50cm of storm snow, which is accompanied by strong winds. The storm slab will be touchy at all elevations and deeper in wind-loaded areas.
This layer has been mainly dormant for the last few weeks but has the potential to 'wake up' with the additional snow load during the storm. Do not put yourself in a location (steep, thin, unsupported areas) to be involved with this layer, as the resulting avalanche would mess you up!
Avalanche activity will increase throughout the day on Tuesday as the snow continues to fall.
A widespread natural avalanche cycle occurred early Saturday morning with numerous avalanches size 2-3.5 throughout the highway corridor.
Expect ~15cm of new snow by Tuesday morning, which adds to the 30-50cm of settling storm snow from the past 5 days. Fresh storm slabs will develop throughout the day and become increasingly reactive as the snow accumulates.
The mid-snowpack is mainly rounded grains.
The Nov 17 deep persistent layer is near the base of the snowpack and is weak. It is mainly facetted with a decomposing crust in some locations.
A decent-sized storm system approaches our region Monday night and tapers off late Tuesday night. Snowfall amounts will be 35-50cm. Southwest winds will range from 30-75km/hr, temps will range from 0 to -7 and the freezing level will rise to ~1400m.
