Cooler temperatures, surface crusts and small amounts of new snow will hold down the avalanche danger on Thursday, and natural activity should be limited - caution is still advised in shallow snowpack areas. The avalanche danger will rise again with another warming event and clearing skies on Friday for the weekend.
A 90-150 cm slab of dense snow now sits atop the persistent mid-pack facet layer from Jan/Feb. There has been a lot of large avalanche activity on this facet layer, and where it is weak and hasn't yet avalanched, triggering it remains a concern.
No new activity was reported or observed today, but our observation network has been limited the last two days.
Surface crusts on all aspects to ~2800 m except north, where powder snow is found at higher elevations. On southerly aspects, the upper 30 cm contains several crusts. The most prominent crust is Mar 27, formed from rain last week, but we have yet to see avalanches on it.
Below this, 80 cm of firm snow overlies the Jan 30 facets, which are stronger in Little Yoho than further east. The concern remains for shallow snowpack features, where the facets are more pronounced.
A few flurries Wednesday night with up to 5 cm expected. On Thursday, a ridge of high pressure builds with clearing skies through the day and light northerly winds. Another warm-up begins on Friday for the weekend, with freezing levels climbing to 2300 m by Saturday. Skies will be generally clear on Friday and Saturday. Warmer temperatures and solar input will bump up the hazard on Friday and Saturday.
