8 am update: More snow fell overnight than expected.
Fresh storm and wind slabs may be reactive today. Assess local conditions as you travel and watch for signs of instability in the new snow.
A weak layer from late January is a concern in shallow north facing terrain in the alpine. Be especially leary of slopes that match this description and have a cornice above.
Wind and storm slabs could be found on all aspects. Initially snow will fall with southwest wind, then wind will switch to northeast during the day on Thursday.
Where new snow doesn't form a slab loose avalanches will be possible.
Small, natural and skier triggered wet and dry loose avalanches continue to be reported in the region.
By mid day on Thursday up to 15 cm of new snow could have accumulated with moderate southwest wind. This new snow will overlie a crust, except on high north facing terrain, Where up to 40 cm overlies the late March crust. Below these crusts, the upper snowpack is moist.
A weak layer of facets from late January can still be found down around 1 meter. This layer remains a concern on high north facing terrain where the late March layer isn't present.
The snowpack is quickly disappearing below treeline. Check out this MIN from our field team.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Thursday
Cloudy in the morning with 5 cm of snow. 20 to 40 km/h northeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Friday
Sunny. 10 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind . Freezing level rising to 1800 m.
Saturday
Sunny. 20 to 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Freezing level rising to 2400 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
