Today you can expect naturally triggered avalanches running to valley bottom. Use good traveling techniques when crossing avalanche terrain. Be Safe.
Weather Forecast
The strong warm storm continues today with heavy precipitation and moderate to strong winds from the southwest. Freeze lines are forecast to rise from 1600m this morning to 2000m this afternoon. The outlook brings less severe conditions for Friday and into the weekend with some cooling temperatures.
Snowpack Summary
35cm of heavy, high density new snow now sits on top of the low density previous storm snow. The recent high winds have formed this snow into wind and storm slabs at treeline and in the alpine. Below 1700m the Mar 3 rain crust, 3-4cm thick, is down 40cm and now is being weakened by freeze lines that climbed to 2100m yesterday, and should rtn today.
Avalanche Summary
A cycle of avalanche activity that began yesterday caused by rapid loading of the new snow by the very strong winds, and rising temperatures, continues today. Numerous avalanches were observed yesterday running to valley bottom.
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.
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.