Wind Slabs
- Hochgebirge
- Waldgrenze
- Unterhalb der Waldgrenze
- Wahrscheinlichkeit
- Possible
- Größe
- 1–2
Unfortunately, the Summit Lake zone did not receive much snow from Friday's storm. Winds have also been slightly stronger in Summit Lake than most of the rest of our forecast area, which makes wind slabs the main concern for today. These will likely be around a foot or two deep. The most problematic terrain will be below ridgelines, convex rolls, and in wind-loaded gullies.
Wind slabs can be identified by looking for stiff snow sitting on top of softer snow. In some cases, you may see clear signs like shooting cracks, but this won't always be the case even when conditions are dangerous. There is an outside chance that a smaller avalanche failing within new and windblown snow may step down to deeper weak layers in the snowpack, but with the small snow totals in the Summit Lake area, this is unlikely.
Dry Loose Avalanches will be fast-moving and easy to trigger in steep terrain. These are unlikely to be big enough to bury a person, but they could still be a concern if they were to take you for a ride.