A natural avalanche cycle is forecast for Friday. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.
Confidence
Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
Weather Forecast
THURSDAY NIGHT: Snow; 15-20 cm. / Strong, southwesterly winds / Low -2/ Freezing level 1000 m.FRIDAY: Snow, 20-30 cm. / Moderate to strong, southwesterly winds / High -2 C / Freezing level 1000 m. SATURDAY: Cloudy / Light, southwesterly winds / High -3 C / Freezing level 600 m.SUNDAY: Cloudy / Light, southerly winds / High-12 C / Freezing level surface.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches were reported in the region on Wednesday. However, we expect widespread storm slab avalanches to occur on Friday.
Snowpack Summary
A significant amount of new snow is forecast to cover a variety of snow surfaces. These include crusts on all but northerly aspects, wind-pressed surfaces on northerly aspects in the alpine, and a mixture of surface hoar (weak feathery crystals) and surface facets (sugary grains) in terrain sheltered from wind/sun at treeline and below.There have been no recent avalanches reported on the weak layers deeper in the upper snowpack.The remainder of the snowpack is currently well-settled and strong in most locations.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.