Avoid all avalanche terrain. A widespread avalanche cycle is expected.
The reactivity of touchy persistent slabs will further increase with this incoming warm storm.
Persistent weak layers including crust/facet combos and buried surface hoar continue producing surprisingly large avalanches. Reactivity will increase with the incoming storm.
Ongoing snowfalls and winds will continue to create reactive storm slabs. Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
The region saw numerous avalanche activity on Monday-Tuesday. Very large natural persistent slabs and numerous human-triggered continue to be reported (size 2 to 3.5). Several have been remotely triggered from low-angle terrain onto adjacent slopes. Most were reported from treeline and above, but all aspects showed reactivity.
With this incoming storm, we expect a widespread avalanche cycle on slopes that did not avalanche yet.
40 to 80 cm of settled storm snow has formed reactive slabs across the region. This snow has also been redistributed by southerly winds at upper elevations. Several persistent weak layers are now buried between 80 and 160 cm deep, including hard crusts with overlying weak facets and surface hoar. These weak layers have been responsible for continued avalanche activities over the last week.
At lower elevations, the upper snowpack may be moist or crusty.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of new snow expected and rain at lower elevations. 50 to 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around 0 °C. Freezing level around 1400 m.
Thursday
Cloudy with 10 to 15 cm of new snow expected. 60 to 80 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around +3 °C. Freezing level rising to 1500 m.
Friday
Cloudy with no precipitation. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around +5 °C. Freezing level rising to 2500 m.
Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds with no precipitation. 40 to 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperatures around +8 °C. Freezing level around 3000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
