Forecast strong southwest winds may trigger large natural avalanches in the alpine on Thursday.
Choose simple, low angle terrain, and avoid overhead hazards.
Persistent weak layers of crusts/facets or surface hoar in the top 200 cm of the snowpack remain a concern in this region, especially where there is not a thick crust under the recent snow.
85 to 140 cm of recent snow and strong southwest winds have formed very reactive storm slabs overlying a weak layer of surface hoar and/or facets.
A widespread natural storm slab avalanche cycle occurred over the last few days on all aspects/elevations. Storm slabs up to size 2.5 were reported at treeline and below.
There have been very limited alpine observations, but we suspect numerous natural very large avalanches (size 3.5 or larger) have occurred.
Forecast strong southwest winds may trigger large natural avalanches in the alpine on Thursday.
Recent snowfall amounts have varied from 85 to 140 cm, with the highest amounts being in the south of the region. The recent snow and strong southwest winds have formed reactive storm slabs overlying a weak layer of surface hoar and/or facets. This weak layer will make large storm slabs more likely to trigger.
There are multiple persistent weak layers consisting of crust/facets or surface hoar in the top 200 cm of the snowpack.
The lower snowpack is generally well settled and strong.
Wednesday Night
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 10 cm of snow. 45 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Friday
Mix of sun and clouds. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 3 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
