Snowfall expected throughout the week will increase the likelihood of wind slab avalanches.
Old slabs from last week's outflow winds may still be possible to trigger, while new snow and wind on Wednesday will form thicker more reactive wind slabs.
MONDAY NIGHT: Cloudy with clear periods and isolated flurries, moderate wind from the southwest, alpine temperatures drop to -10 C.
TUESDAY: Cloudy, light wind from various directions, alpine high temperatures around -8 C.
WEDNESDAY: Scattered flurries with 10-30 cm of new snow, strong wind from the south, alpine high temperatures around -6 C.
THURSDAY: 5-10 cm of new snow, moderate wind from the south, alpine high temperatures around -10 C.
A small (size 1) naturally triggered wind slab was reported on Saturday on a low angle roll in the trees (see photos in this MIN report). Looking ahead fresh wind slabs will form with incoming storms on Wednesday and Friday.
Wind over the past week has ravaged the surface snow, stripping away snow in exposed terrain and depositing it in lee terrain features. Isolated wind slabs may still be found. The prolonged cold temperatures have started to facet the upper snowpack and there has even been some surface hoar starting to develop in the trees. Snow depths at White Pass average around 150 cm; deeper locations (higher terrain west of the highway) have as much as 200 cm. It's reasonable to expect a thin snowpack with sugary facets in the Wheaton Valley, although we don't yet have observations to confirm this.
