Northern San Juan

Elevated winds and new snow on Saturday will increase the avalanche hazard. Winds are strong enough to drift snow into thick slabs onto lee slopes. You can trigger an avalanche in the wind-drifted snow. Avalanches will be larger and may be triggered from a distance where drifted snow sits above buried weak layers. The most dangerous slopes face north, northeast, and east in the alpine.

Look for instabilities like cracking and collapsing or avalanches on similar slopes and head to lower-angle terrain or a slope that faces west or south if you observe these signs.