We are transitioning from a cold and snowy week to warmer weather.
Weather models are giving conflicting outputs on how high freezing levels will rise on Monday and Tuesday. Be sure to check the Mountain Weather Forecast before you head into the backcountry.
Old wind slabs can be found in standard lee features. New wind slabs are expected to form from light to moderate northeasterly winds. Watch out for reverse loading.
Several wind slab avalanches were observed in the last 72 hours. These avalanches were from alpine and treeline start zones and up to size 2.5.
Up to 65cm of new snow has been redistributed into wind slabs in lee features. This sits over variable surfaces including widespread wind affected snow and a 3-8cm thick crust treeline and below treeline. Beneath this, 30–50 cm of settled snow overlies multiple crusts. The lower snowpack is generally well settled.
Sunday
Isolated flurries. Alpine low of -16 °C and high of -9 °C. Wind gusting to 35 km/h. Freezing level at valley bottom.
Monday
Scattered flurries. Alpine low of -10 °C and high of 2 °C. Wind gusting to 70 km/h. Freezing level at 2300m.
Tuesday
Sunny periods and isolated showers. Alpine low of 1 °C and high of 3 °C. Wind gusting to 75 km/h. Freezing level at 2400m.
Current weather forecast: Mountain Weather Forecast
