Avalanche Forecast

Fair - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

Week disturbances embedded in the southwesterly flow continue to bring light precipitation amounts overnight Monday. Freezing levels will fall and there will be a lull between storms until Wednesday when things ramp up again.Tuesday: Trace snow amounts. Alpine temperatures near -6.0. Ridgetop winds light from the SW, occasional strong gusts.Wednesday: Snow amounts near 10 cm. Alpine temperatures near-5.0. Ridgetop winds light from the SW. Freezing levels rising to 1000 m.Thursday: Snow amounts near 12 cm. Alpine temperatures near -4.0. Ridgetop winds 10-30 km/hr from the SW. Freezing levels 1600 m.

Sluffing from steeper terrain and numerous size 1 storm slab and wind slab natural avalanche activity.

Up to 30 cm of new snow has buried the recently formed melt-freeze crusts and surface facets that developed over the last few cold days. The melt-freeze crusts were found on all aspects at treeline and below, and on all but North aspects in the alpine. The very warm alpine temperatures and strong solar radiation from last week caused a great deal of settlement in the old storm slab above the early February weak layer. The February weak layer of crusts and facets has been reported to be rounding and bonding in areas where the old storm slab is 150 cm or deeper. Shallow snow pack areas where the old storm slab is closer to a metre or less continue to give sudden planar shears in snow profile tests. North aspects in the alpine may have had enough warming to settle the storm snow into a cohesive slab, but not enough to improve the weak layer bond. Big un-supported alpine North aspects are the most likely place to find a well preserved deeply buried February weak layer that may continue to allow for long propagations resulting in very large avalanches.