When the sun comes out today, the storm snow will become more reactive. The new snow is still needs time to stabilize.
Weather Forecast
Unsettled weather continues with a mix of sun and cloud. Freezing levels will rise to 1300m, but the Alpine will stay cool at -6. Ridge winds will be light from the south.
Snowpack Summary
50cm of new storm snow is starting to consolidate into a slab that is sitting over buried wind slabs and isolated pockets of surface hoar. Moderate southerly winds have likely redistributed this snow at ridgetop. The mid and lower snowpack are composed of weak facetted snow from the cold weather we received last month.
Avalanche Summary
Natural avalanche activity dropped off yesterday but explosive avalanche control produced numerous large avalanches in the west side of Glacier National Park. The avalanches were triggered as slabs in the upper start zones and ran to the valley bottom.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.