With rain on Wednesday and Thursday and a decent freeze overnight, the sliding hazard could be serious! Make sure you're appropriately equipped (ice axe and crampons, ski/splitboard crampons) if you're heading into the hills, and give the snow time to soften in the sun.
Loose wet avalanches are possible on Friday, with the hazard greatest on sunny slopes in the afternoon.
Watch for rollerballing or soft, mushy snow as these are signs the snowpack is losing strength.
Pockets of windslab could be lurking above 2100m on sheltered southeasterly aspects. Watch for signs of windloading, especially in the north of the forecast area.
Ohau Ski Patrol reported one small wind slab avalanche from a ski cut at 1880m on a south aspect on the 12th of August.
The upper snowpack is rain soaked below around 2100m. Above this, an estimated 15-25cm of new snow fell, with higher totals in the northern part of the forecast area and was redistributed by northerly and northwesterly winds.
The lower pack was a mix of melt freeze crusts on sunny slopes, windscoured crusts in exposed areas, and drifts of firm, windpressed snow. With a thin snowpack in places and some cold nights, faceting has been observed in the lower pack, but so far we're not seeing any weak layers that are causing problems. Below around 1700m the lower snowpack is isothermal.
Areas of morning low cloud and frosts, otherwise fine.
Wind at 1000 metres: Light.
Wind at 2000 metres: Light.
Freezing level: 2000 metres.
With a decent freeze likely overnight, the sliding hazard is high. Take an ice axe and crampons and be careful before the sun starts to soften the snow.
Moderate
New Zealand Avalanche Advisory (NZ Mountain Safety Council)
