Happy New Year! Watch for freshly formed windslab and reverse loading along wind exposed terrain.
Weather Forecast
Mainly cloudy with N-E moderate to strong winds and cold alpine temps of -17C today. Clear and cold for Monday, Tuesday with more NE flow of cold air.
Snowpack Summary
60cm+ of storm snow was initially redistributed by mod-storng S wind Friday. Overnight 8hrs of strong N-NE wind has worked to reverse load alpine and wind exposed treeline features. 80cm of snow now overlies the Dec 18th facet interface, which was reactive to artillery control on Friday. Expect fresh reactive windslab in the alpine all aspects.
Avalanche Summary
There was a widespread natural avalanche cycle on Friday up to size 3 on all aspects and elevations. Yesterday no new avalanches were reported or observed.
Confidence
Due to the number of field observations
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.
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.