New snow and wind may create small wind slabs in the alpine today. A thick rain crust sits below today's new snow Be prepared for tricky travel conditions if you do venture out today.
New wind slabs will form from southwesterly winds transporting new snow into leeward features in the alpine. Wind slabs will likely be small but fail easily where a thick rain crust is present below.
Friday overnight: Cloud cover increases in the evening. Winds moderate to strong out of the west. 1-5 cm of new snow accumulation overnight, with temperatures reaching -10 C at valley bottom.
Saturday: Mainly cloudy with strong westerly ridgetop winds. 10-20 cm of snow throughout the day. An alpine high of -3 C.
Sunday: A mix of sun and cloud with isolated flurries. Trace accumulation. Light to moderate winds out of the northwest and an alpine high of -11 C.
Monday: Mainly cloudy with up to 5 cm of new snow throughout the day. Light variable winds and an alpine high of -11 C.
No new avalanches have been observed in the past 24 hours.
If you head out this weekend, please share your observations and/or photos on the Mountain Information Network! ?
New snow overnight and throughout the day today will sit on a thick rain crust on the snow surface on all aspects below 2400m. In the high alpine (above 2400m) new snow overlies a variety of wind-affected surfaces.
Previously, the mid-November rain crust could be found near the base of the snowpack. It is likely that rain has mainly broken-down this crust at treeline and below, and amalgamated the snowpack into a thick rain crust with uniform melt forms below.
Snowpack depths range from 10-80 cm at treeline elevations. Higher elevations may hold a deeper snowpack, but will also be more heavily impacted by recent winds. Rain has washed away the snowpack below 1900m.
