Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Mar 4th, 2013 9:03AM
The alpine rating is Storm Slabs, Cornices and Loose Dry.
, the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems includeSummary
Confidence
Fair - Due to limited field observations
Weather Forecast
Tonight and Tuesday: A weak ridge remains, while cloud from the next approaching low will result in some increasing cloudiness Tuesday afternoon. Ridgetop winds will blow light from the South with light snowfall amounts. Alpine temperatures near -9 and freezing levels 1200 m.Tuesday night and Wednesday: A low pressure system will move inland. The bulk of this system will remain South of the border, but some cloud and light precipitation will spread into the southeastern ranges. Ridgetop winds light from the SW. Alpine temperatures near -6 and freezing levels 1600 m in the afternoon, falling to valley bottom overnight.Thursday: Generally clear and dry, with possible light snow amounts. Ridgetop winds light from the SW. Alpine temperatures near -5 and freezing levels 1700 m, falling overnight.
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday sluffing occurred from steep terrain features up to size 1.0. No new observations reported on Monday.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 40 cm of storm snow has fallen. Storm slabs have been reactive naturally, especially on slopes lee to the wind. The new snow has been transported onto lee slopes by strong west and southwest winds creating wind slabs. Cornices have grown large on ridgelines and may become weak, especially if the sun shines through. In areas unaffected by the wind, loose dry sluffs are likely.Below treeline exists a melt -freeze crust which may deteriorate in the afternoon if temperatures get warm enough. I suspect this crust is bridging and instabilities that may sit beneathMid and lower snowpack layers are generally well settled.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Cornices
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Loose Dry
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: All elevations.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Mar 5th, 2013 2:00PM