New snow lies upon buried sun crusts, wind-packed snow, surface hoar and old snow surfaces that were faceted during the recent dry spell. Soft slab avalanches and loose snow sluffs could be easily triggered in steep terrain that have recieved the most new snow. On northerly aspects above 9,000 feet, full depth, hard slab avalanches could be human triggered on weak snow near the base of the snowpack.
At the upper elevations south to southwest winds have formed soft surface slabs up to two feet in depth that could be easily triggered by humans in steep terrain. Pockets of soft slab 6 to 18 inches in depth could be human triggered in steep avalanche starting zones and cliff areas at the mid and lower elevations.
Deep hard slabs could be human triggered above an elevation of 9,000 feet in steep north facing avalanche paths. If triggered these dangerous slabs could involve the full depth of the snowpack. These deep slabs are more likely to fail with larger triggers such as snowmobiles, large cornice drops or groups of people.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Moderate to heavy snowfall is forecast to become widespread tonight and continue into the day. This flow should once again favor southern areas of our forecast region. New snow accumulations of 6 to 18 inches are possible during the next 24 hours. Stronger southwest winds will accompany the snowfall. Temperatures will remain in the teens and 20s.The new snow and wind will increase the avalanche hazard. New soft slabs will increase in size and distribution and are expected to continue to be very sensitive to human triggers. The general avalanche is expected to increase to CONSIDERABLE in the Southwest Trails forecast area where new snowfall totals are expected to exceed a foot. The hazard is expected to be MODERATE in areas that receive lesser amounts of new snow overnight.
