Storm slabs may develop this afternoon in the Alpine and at Tree line. Isolated pockets of buried wind slabs exist in the Alpine. Expect sluffing in steep terrain to travel fast and far.
Weather Forecast
Light snowfall this morning and moderate snowfall this afternoon. We could see accumulations of up to 10cm by the end of the day, with some moderate winds from the South West, and the freezing level staying below valley bottom. Another 10cm tonight is forecasted tonight, then a mix of sun and cloud for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Snowpack Summary
~30cm of recent snow covers 20-30cm of facets, wind slabs, and/or sun crusts up to 3cm thick. Recent moderate southerly winds have deposited isolated pockets of wind slab along ridge lines and cross loaded features. The mid and lower snowpack is well settled and strong.
Avalanche Summary
Approx 5 new avalanches were triggered yesterday by the sun in the HWY corridor. These were loose dry in the morning, turning to loose moist in the afternoon, and ranged from size 1 to 2. Reports of natural loose dry avalanches up to sz 1.5 and skier triggered sz 1 sluffing in steep terrain (40 degree+) from the backcountry.
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.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.