With a mix of weather in the forecast, keep an eye out for changing conditions. Prolonged periods of sunshine, and rising temperatures will increase the likelihood of loose wet avalanches on sun-exposed slopes, especially in areas with fresh snow.
Weather Forecast
MONDAY NIGHT - Cloudy with clear periods / winds north, 10-25 km/h / alpine low temperature near -5 / freezing level valley bottomTUESDAY - Mix of sun and cloud / light southeast winds / alpine high temperature near 0 / freezing level 1900 mWEDNESDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries, trace accumulation / light southwest winds, gusting to 40 km/h / alpine high temperature near +1 / freezing level 2000 m THURSDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated flurries, trace to 5 cm accumulation / light west winds, gusting to 55 km/h / alpine high temperature near +1 / freezing level 2000 m
Avalanche Summary
If the sun comes out for prolonged periods of time, the chances of loose avalanches will increase, especially in areas with fresh snow.On Friday, there were reports of a few loose wet avalanches up to size 1.5 out of steep, sun-exposed terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Around 15 cm new snow overlies a thick crust on most aspects and elevations and is rapidly settling with warm temperatures. On north facing terrain in the alpine, the underlying snow remains dry. The snowpack on sun exposed slopes in the alpine and all aspects at treeline and below may become moist or wet during the heat of the day, especially if the sun comes out.Lower down in the snowpack, the base is composed of weak facets (sugary snow). In areas that remained more sheltered from the heat, human triggering of persistent slabs on this layer may still be possible; especially in rocky alpine terrain with a shallow or highly variable depth snowpack.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.