Storm Slab will develop as the week progresses. Monitor closely the bond between the storm snow and the layer it sits on and be particularly cautious in wind loaded features.
A more deeply buried weak layer still presents a Low Probability/High Consequence situation. This layer would be most easily triggered in places where the snowpack is shallow.
As the storm continues through the week, the storm slab will thicken. The slab will take time to bond to the layers below it. Wind will also make this slab thicker on lee aspects.
A few small wind slab avalanches were reported across the region on Tuesday.
Larger avalanches on more deeply buried persistent week layers were reported late last week during a warm spell.
Up to 30cm of new snow overlays various wind-affected surfaces in alpine terrain and widespread, supportive, melt-freeze crusts at lower elevations (roughly 1900 m and below). Much of this new snow is being blown into wind slab by southwest winds.
The mid and lower snowpack continues to bond and stabilize while a number of buried weak layers remain a concern and have produced a number of large recent avalanches.
Wednesday nightCloudy. 10-15 cm of new snow. Wind from the south at 20 km/h. Temperature -2 C.
Thursday
Cloudy. 10 cm of new snow. Wind from the south at 20 km/h. Temperature -2 C.
FridayCloudy. 10 cm of new snow. Wind from the south at 20 km/h. Temperature up to 0 C in the alpine with freezing levels to 800 m.
SaturdayCloudy. 5 cm of new snow. Wind from the south at 15 km/h. Temperature up to 0 C with freezing levels coming up to 1000 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
