Regions
South Coast Inland.
Avalanche hazard is generally decreasing. However, uncertainty still exists regarding the reactivity of a buried weak layer that has been most prevalent on shady aspects, at treeline elevations.
Weather Forecast
MONDAY NIGHT: Few clouds / Light, northwesterly winds / Low -1 C / Freezing level valley bottom.TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Light, northwesterly winds / High 2 C / Freezing level 1000 m. with inversion conditions possible.WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with sunny periods / Moderate, northwesterly winds / High 2 C / Freezing level 1000 m.THURSDAY: Cloudy / Moderate, westerly winds / High 0 C / Freezing level 1000 m.
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches were reported in the region on Sunday.
Snowpack Summary
On the snow surface, you will likely find a melt-freeze crust on southerly aspects to the top of the mountain and wind affected snow in the alpine. Small wind slabs may exist in lee terrain features formed by recent west winds.Around 30 to 50 cm of snow sits on a melt-freeze crust on southerly aspects, a crust below around 1700 m on all aspects, and feathery surface hoar in areas sheltered by the wind at all elevation bands. The surface hoar may be most pronounced on west, north, and east aspects between 1700 m and 2000 m.Below this, the snowpack is generally well-settled and strong in most locations.
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.