A heavy, rain soaked snowpack is producing lots of avalanche activity with many slides running full path and breaking trees.
Avoid all avalanche terrain.
Two persistent weak layers are buried down ~ 180 and 210 cm. These layers are of great concern with the huge load added to the snowpack this week. Use caution in thin snowpack areas that are not typically skied, and limit exposure to open paths that have not recently produced large avalanches.
Heavy snowfall with warm temps and strong winds will create a widespread storm slab problem. High freezing levels and rain on snow will increase the likelihood and size of this avalanche problem.
Heavy rain has soaked and destabilized the upper snowpack above a crust that was buried March 8th. Expect this heavy wet snow to be easily triggered and have surprising destructive potential. Loose wet avalanches will also occur where triggered by snowballs falling from trees or rocks.
Explosive triggered avalanches up to size 4 in the highway corridor on Thursday.
On Monday night and again Wednesday morning avalanche control produced avalanches up to size 3.5 throughout the highway corridor.
Natural avalanche activity has continued throughout this storm cycle.
60-120cms of new snow (elevation dependent; more up high, less down low) has been redistributed by strong winds in the alpine. At tree line and below heavy rain has soaked and destabilized the upper snowpack.
The Feb 9 and Jan 26 surface hoar (SH) layers are now buried 150-210 cm deep. With the heavy new load of snow and rain these layers could become reactive again.
Heavy snow in the alpine and heavy rain tree line and below with strong winds.
Tonight Snow, 17cm. Alpine high 0°C. Winds SW 30-50km/h. Freezing level (FZL) 2100m.
Fri Snow 23cm. Alpine high 0°C. Wind SW 25gusting to 70km/h. FZL 1900m.
Sat Flurries 5cm. Alpine high -5°C. Wind W 20 gusting 55km/h. FZL 1500m.
Sun Isolated flurries. Trace snow. Alpine high -7°C. Wind SW 20-40km/h. FZL 1200m.
