Avalanche Forecast

Poor - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Thursday night and Friday: Another frontal system is moving inland from the coast. Light precipitation expected to start overnight and go until the afternoon Friday for a total of 5-10 mm. in the wettest zones. Winds are expected to be strong from the SW-W in the alpine and temperatures remaining cool (-7 C) and freezing level staying at the surface. Saturday: Trace to light precipitation amounts, lighter W winds and similar temperatures. Sunday: Similar unsettled conditions providing trace to light precipitation, cool temperatures with light SW winds.

No recent natural avalanche was reported. An explosive shot resulted in a size 2 slab on a W slope which is suspected to have run on the early January weak surface.

More snow will add on to the 10 cm that fell yesterday with moderate winds from the W-SW. New windslabs in the alpine and at treeline under lee ridgetops will form and their bond to the old surfaces might be weak for a certain time. Loose snow is expected to slide very easily on the January 23th surface hoar layer that is located in shaded-sheltered areas below treeline and also on the buried suncrust found on South facing slopes. The early January surface hoar weak layer is still a concern to professionals. It is mostly found under 30-50 cm in the below treeline band and is still producing a variety of test results. Under these concerning layers, a strong mid-pack overlies a weak facet/crust layer near the base of the snowpack, which is now considered inactive.