Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Regions
Lizard-Flathead.
There is uncertainty with snowfall amounts on Tuesday. If snow does fall, it should not be enough to raise danger ratings.
Confidence
Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, wind light east, alpine temperature -11WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, wind light east, alpine temperatures -14THURSDAY: Sunny, wind light east, alpine temperature -14 More details can be found on the Mountain Weather Forecast.
Avalanche Summary
Recent avalanche activity in the region has been reported as thin natural and skier triggered wind slabs to size 1.5 on northerly aspects in the alpine and at tree line.
Snowpack Summary
A recent dusting of light snow has been redistributed by moderate to strong winds and covers previous wind affected surfaces in exposed areas. Buried crusts can be found near the surface on solar aspects at high elevations and on all aspects below 1600m. The lower snowpack appears to be well settled. There have been isolated reports of a surface hoar layer buried in early January about 40 cm deep in sheltered areas. Last week the height of snow in the First Peak area was reported at 140 cm at an elevation of 1950 metres. The top 50 cm of the snowpack was a stiff pencil hardness above a softer layer of December facets. The November crust in this location was 15 cm thick at the base of the snowpack and breaking down into weak faceted crystals.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.