Uncertainty surrounding a dynamic freezing level will likely keep alpine danger ratings elevated through the week.
Summary
Confidence
Fair - Freezing levels are uncertain
Weather Forecast
Tuesday looks dry and warm with a freezing level around 1800m. Winds are expected to be light at all elevations. Wednesday also looks dry, but winds are expected to kick up a bit, look for Strong SW winds at ridgetop and light variable winds at treeline. The freezing level should climb to around 2200m by Wednesday afternoon. Strong SW winds at ridgetop should continue into Thursday as the freezing level continues to climb. The freezing level could be as high as 3000m by Thursday evening.
Avalanche Summary
Control work on Sunday produced storm slabs to size 2.5 with crown depths of 50 to 150cm. This is a slight reduction in size from Saturday's control work that produced storm slab avalanches to size 3 running 50 to 150cm in depth on the early February crust.
Snowpack Summary
The wet warm storm produced 30 to 100cm of snow above 2200m. Warm temperatures are driving rapid settlement of the storm snow, the average depth of snow above the stout and supportive Early February Rain Crust is now around 70cm. Shears on both the mid storm instabilities and the February Crust continue to strengthen. It's not your typical early February snowpack, the snow below 2000m is wet, and a saturated slush on crust setup can be found below treeline. All avalanche activity has occurred on either mid storm instabilities or the crust. We have not received any reports of avalanches failing below the crust.
ghelgeson,
Avalanche Canada
