With warm temperatures and spring-like conditions, watch for moist and wet snow as crusts breakdown during the day.
Confidence
High - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Ridge wind light from the southwest. Alpine temperature +2. Freezing level 2000m.WEDNESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Ridge wind light from the northeast. Alpine temperature +3. Freezing level 2500m.THURSDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Ridge wind light from the northwest. Alpine temperature +5. Freezing level 3200m.
Avalanche Summary
Numerous small to large loose wet avalanches up to size 2 were observed on solar aspects last week as well as a small natural wind slab avalanche in steep terrain on a northerly aspect in the alpine on Saturday. Warming and cloud cover on Sunday produced pinwheeling and snowballing on all aspects.
Snowpack Summary
Warm temperatures have created a spring-like, melt-freeze cycle on all aspects with the overnight crust breaking down quickly due to the ongoing sunny warm weather. Surface hoar and surface facets may still exist in shaded areas on north aspects. The upper snowpack is well settled and bonding well to the late-November rain crusts although faceting has been noted around these crusts. The lower snowpack is well settled.
Problems
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.