West Slopes South

There isn't much avalanche potential in the mountains right now, but that doesn't mean avalanches can't happen. Until the snow surface turns into a firm crust, snow could shed off very steep slopes, rocks, and corniced ridges. A few inches of new snow shouldn't be enough to create consequential slides.

Temperatures should continue to slowly decrease as a small storm passes through the West South on Tuesday. A few inches of snow could fall above the rain/snow line and might drift into a few unstable piles, but we're hedging our bets that you won't be able to find anything large enough to call a consequential avalanche. The one exception could be on the southern volcanoes where more snow and gustier winds are expected. Despite this, we still don't think we'll reach the threshold for heightened avalanche conditions. 

The real trick becomes lower and mid elevations that were saturated over the past week from an atmospheric river and full on springtime weather. Adding liquid rain below the rain/snow line could help keep wet avalanche potential on the table. However, the likelihood of these avalanches has drastically reduced in recent days, and the snowpack is well suited to handle additional water. So where does that leave us? You likely won't see much natural avalanche activity or be able to push an actual wet loose avalanche. All the same, you may want to consider avoiding overhead exposure as you travel where a block of snow clinging to a rock or cliff could fall without warning. These events should be unlikely and isolated, but are worth keeping in the back of your mind.

Of course, if the weather forecast busts and it's pouring rain or dumping snow and the wind is whipping it into piles, the potential for avalanches will increase and you should adjust your travel plans accordingly.