Regions
Northwest Inland.
Confidence
Fair - Due to limited field observationsfor the entire period
Weather Forecast
Tuesday: Winds are expected to veer to northwesterlies and ease to moderate in the wake of Monday's frontal system. The temperature inversion is also expected to dissipate with freezing levels returning to valley bottoms. Wednesday and Thursday: The ridge of high pressure is expected to rebuild with a dry outflow pattern.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanche activity has been reported. Isolated wind slabs may be susceptible to human triggering.
Snowpack Summary
Expect to find scoured areas, sastrugi, and hard or stiff wind slabs in exposed terrain. Warm temperatures and sun-exposure is melting the surface snow, and subsequent freezing will likely form a hard crust, especially on southerly aspects. Surface hoar is probably growing on sheltered shady slopes. The mid and lower snowpack are generally quite strong.
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.