A natural avalanche cycle continues today as winds pick up. The new snow will require time to stabilize.
Weather Forecast
Snowfall is tapering off but another 10cm is still expected for today. Strong alpine winds from the southwest will gust to 60km/hr as a cold front passes through the area. The freezing level will rise to 1500m with an alpine temperature of -4. A slight rise in the barometer brings sun and cloud for saturday before flurries return on Sunday.
Snowpack Summary
The past 48hrs has seen almost 100cm of new snow. A touchy storm slab is widespread on all aspects and elevations. This morning winds increased from moderate to extreme, creating heavily loaded pockets on north aspects. Persistent weak layers from December are buried deep in the snowpack. An early season crust is decomposing at or near the ground.
Avalanche Summary
Artillery avalanche control produced numerous large avalanches with many artillery rounds triggering multiple avalanches in adjacent targets. A widespread natural avalanche cycle that began yesterday remains active today. Remote avalanche sensors identified a large natural avalanche in Connaught Creek that coincided with extreme winds this morning.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
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.