Weather Forecast
Wednesday: Moist NW flow continues to bring unsettled conditions to the region. Snow amounts up near 10 cm. Ridgetop winds moderate from the NW. Alpine temperatures near -2.0 and freezing levels around 1500 m. Thursday: Mainly cloudy with possible sunny periods in the afternoon. Flurries accompanied by moderate ridgetop winds from the West. Alpine temperatures near -3.0 and freezing levels rise to 1700 m.Friday: Cloudy with dryer conditions. Some flurries with ridgetop winds light from the SW. Alpine temperatures -4.0 and freezing levels around 1600 m.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 30 cm of snow fell over the past few days with light to moderate winds. This snow seems to be settling and gaining strength although lingering wind slabs are possible behind ridges and ribs. Wind slabs may be found in unsuspecting places due to changing winds from SW-NW. Be cautious of cross-loaded terrain features. The new snow has also buried a variety of surfaces including old wind slabs, crusts and large surface hoar crystals which can be found in sheltered terrain below treeline. The most recent buried crust/surface hoar down approx. 10-30 cm are producing moderate-sudden planar and resistant test results, and should remain a layer to watch. Down deeper sits another surface hoar layer (40-80 cm) which seems to be gaining strength.Near the base of the snowpack, a crust/facet layer exists, which is now unlikely to be triggered, except perhaps by heavy triggers in unsupported, shallow, rocky terrain where more faceting has taken place.