Avalanche Forecast
Issued: Feb 22nd, 2015 7:59AM
The alpine rating is Wind Slabs and Persistent Slabs.
, the treeline rating is , and the below treeline rating is Known problems includeSummary
Confidence
Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain on Monday
Weather Forecast
The dry ridge will persist throughout the forecast period bringing a mix of sun and cloud until Wednesday. Winds will generally remain light from the northwest, although strong gusts are likely on Tuesday. On Monday we can expect an inversion with above-freezing alpine temperatures. Freezing levels will hover around 1500m on Tuesday, and then drop to about 800m on Wednesday.
Avalanche Summary
Avalanche activity has gradually tapered off throughout the past week, although there has been some wind slab activity to size 1.5 at higher elevations over the weekend in response to northwest to northeast winds redistributing recent snow accumulations. Looking forward, wind slabs may remain sensitive to human triggering, while loose wet avalanches may fail under sunny skies and rising freezing levels on Monday.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 10 cm of recent snow covers the previous variable snow surface of surface hoar, crusts, dry facetted snow, or wind affected snow depending on aspect and elevation. The "Valentine's Day" crust is just below the surface and is now strong and thick in most places. New wind slabs may have formed in lee terrain from recent W-NW winds, and cornices remain large and weak. The late-Jan crust/surface hoar layer (up to 100 cm deep) and the mid-January surface hoar (80-120 cm deep) are generally dormant, and chances of triggering these weaknesses have decreased. However, triggering may be possible with a large input such as cornice fall, or an avalanche stepping down, especially on sun drenched slopes.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Aspects: North, North East, East, South East, South, South West.
Elevations: Alpine, Treeline.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Persistent Slabs
Aspects: All aspects.
Elevations: Alpine.
Likelihood
Expected Size
Valid until: Feb 23rd, 2015 2:00PM