As wind picks up Wednesday afternoon be on the look out for fresh wind slabs. Remember a small loose dry avalanche (or thin wind slab) can have big consequences in steep terrain due to cliffs and other terrain traps.
As winds increase to moderate Wednesday afternoon from the south/southwest, watch for wind transport and be on the look out for fresh wind slabs in the immediate lee of windy ridge crests, along cross-loaded slopes or in steep alpine terrain. Cornices continue to weaken.
Scattered snow flurries with light to moderate southerly wind for the rest of the week.
TUESDAY NIGHT: Mainly cloudy with clear periods and isolated flurries, light and variable wind, treeline temperatures around -12 C.
WEDNESDAY: A mix of sun and clouds with scattered flurries starting mid-morning, 2 to 5 cm new snow, light to moderate southerly wind, treeline temperatures around -7 C.
THURSDAY: Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries, trace to 3 cm new snow, light southerly wind, treeline temperatures around -5 C.
FRIDAY: Mainly cloudy with scattered flurries, 2 to 5 cm new snow, light southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -5 C.
Loose dry avalanches (sluffs) in steep alpine and treeline features are gaining mass with incremental light snowfall amounts and near surface faceting and are sliding easily on surface hoar and old hard surfaces. Isolated wind slabs may start to develop as south/southeasterly wind increases on Wednesday afternoon.
A few more cm off snow late in the day on Wednesday will add to the 5-15 cm recent low density snow that has buried surface hoar and other old surfaces. In the alpine, new snow sits on top of layers of hard wind slab, scoured regions, sastrugi and isolated pockets of soft snow. A hard crust is found below 1700 m. Cold temps continue to promote near-surface faceting that slowly softens hard surfaces, develop facets at the crust interface and weaken cornices.
A solid mid-pack sits above a deeply buried crust and facet layers near the bottom of the snowpack (150-200 cm deep), which are currently unreactive.
