At the upper elevations the hazard will be on the increase as strong southwesterly winds create areas of blowing snow. Monitor conditions and be aware of the increasing potential for humans to trigger shallow pockets of wind slab in steep upper elevation avalanche starting zones. Be prepared to re-access the hazard if forecast new snow amounts exceed expectations or intense periods of snowfall occur.
At the upper elevations southwest to west winds have begun to create very small pockets of new soft slab in isolated areas. These slabs will gain depth and volume as the day progresses and could attain depths of 6 to 12 inches in the delineated aspects by evening. Further slab development is likely overnight.
Strong southwest to west winds and periods of snowfall are expected to continue into Tuesday. Additional accumulations of four to eight inches are possible in favored locations. Temperatures will rise to near 30 in the mountains and to near 40 degrees in the valleys.The dense new snow and strong winds will overload weak layers of faceted snow and create dangerous avalanche conditions at the mid and upper elevations. Human triggered slab avalanches up to two feet in depth are likely and could be remotely triggered. Natural avalanche activity is possible. The general avalanche hazard will rise to CONSIDERABLE if the snowfall continues through the night. Shallow wet slides are possible in steep snow covered terrain at the lower elevations. Route finding skills that employ caution and avoid avalanche paths and their run out zones are essential for safe travel in the mountains.
