Avalanche Forecast

Good

Tonight and Saturday: Cold front has passed through the region, leaving behind a colder NW flow and possible a lingering trace of snow. Expect moderate to strong NW winds with freezing level at valley bottom and temperatures around -10 C at 1500 m. Sky should be partly cloudy on Saturday.Sunday: The ridge of high pressure keeps dominating the weather pattern keeping freezing levels low, moderate winds from the NW and partly cloudy skies.  Monday: Very light amounts of snow is possible as an upper disturbance cross over the region.

A couple natural and skier triggered avalanches up to size 1.5 were reported yesterday. They initiated in the building storm snow on NW and NE aspects. There was also some sloughing in steep terrain.

The storm left around 25 cm of new snow on the region with the heaviest amounts in the center of the region. Moderate winds have transported this new snow on NE facing slopes in the alpine/treeline and should continue loading E-SE slopes as winds keep blowing during the day tomorrow from the NW. Natural avalanche activity is still possible tomorrow on leeward slopes in the alpine and top of treeline because of the storm snow available for transport. In the mid-pack, persistent weak layers down 60-80 cm are a concern to avalanche professionals since triggering a fresh windslab or stormslab could step down to these layers and create bigger problems. These layers consists of surface hoar on sheltered slopes or crust/facets combo on steep solar aspects. Areas with shallower snowpack and rocky/planar slopes have also been reported as weak due to basal facetting (sugary, non-supportive snow at the bottom of the snowpack).