At 5 AM skies were clear and air temperatures were in the mid 20s at an elevation of 10,500 feet. Those early morning temperatures are about five degrees warmer than yesterday morning and 15 degrees warmer than Friday morning. Warming temperatures and early sunshine will be increasing the hazard today. In isolated areas at the upper elevations some potential may persist for snowmobilers to trigger deep hard slabs in steep avalanche prone terrain. As temperatures warm the potential for wet slides to occur and for cornices to fail will increase. Cornice drops could trigger large slab avalanches. Monitor conditions, evaluate terrain carefully and avoid avalanche prone terrain after significant warming has occurred.Abundant sunshine and warmer temperatures will be increasing the hazard today. Five AM temperatures at 10,500 feet are about ten degrees warmer than they were yesterday morning. Isolated pockets of wind slab and wet slides could be human triggered or release naturally in steep terrain. Cornice drops and snowmobilers could trigger large hard slab avalanches in steep upper elevation avalanche paths. Monitor conditions, evaluate terrain carefully and avoid avalanche prone terrain during the warmest portion of the day. Avalanches are unlikely below an elevation of 8,000 feet.
At the upper elevations (above 9,000 feet) snowmobilers and cornice drops could trigger hard slab avalanches with depths to four feet in steep, active avalanche paths.
Large cornices exist at the upper elevations and may become unstable as the day warms. Cornice failure could be triggered by the weight of a person or occur naturally. Cornice drops upon steep slopes could trigger large hard slab avalanches.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )A weak low pressure trough, with limited moisture, will bring increasing clouds with scattered rain and snow showers. Isolated thunderstorms are possible in the afternoon. Temperatures will drop to around 30 degrees overnight and rise into the 40s and 50s during the day. Winds will be westerly at 15 to 20 miles per hour with higher gusts.The snowpack is mostly stable. Isolated pockets of instability may exist in extreme terrain and cliff areas. The general avalanche hazard will be dependent upon air temperatures and cloud cover. If conditions remain cool and cloudy the hazard will be LOW. If significant warming is accompanied by sunshine the hazard may increase to MODERATE.
