Regions
Northwest Inland.
During recent storms freezing levels have varied significantly throughout the region. Pay close attention to conditions that change with elevation, aspect and geographic location.
Confidence
Poor - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
A ridge of high pressure will develop and bring mainly clear skies for the forecast period. Sunday: Light snowfall in the morning and then clearing throughout the day / Moderate to strong northwest winds / Freezing level at about 1200m Monday: Mix of sun and cloud / Moderate northwest winds / Freezing level at 1200m Tuesday: Mix of sun and cloud / Light northwest winds / Freezing level at 2500m
Avalanche Summary
Loose wet and wet slab avalanche activity to size 2.5 was observed in the last few days. If warm temperatures persist, there is ongoing potential for this type of activity to continue. Wind slabs to size 2 were also observed at higher elevations.
Snowpack Summary
In the south of the region, warming and subsequent refreezing may have created a hard melt-freeze crust which extends up to about 1800m. At higher elevations dense wind slabs are reported to exist. Where it exists, this melt-freeze crust should add considerable strength to the snowpack, although daytime warming will weaken this crust allowing for surface avalanches to fail more easily. About 20 to 40cm below the surface you may find weak surface hoar which was buried on February 10th. It is unclear if recent warming has destroyed this potentially weak layer. I'd dig down and test for this layer, especially at upper elevations where colder temperatures may have allowed for this weakness to persist. Further north in the region, the freezing level is reported to have hovered around 1300m during recent storms. In these areas, wind and storm slabs are a concern and deeper persistent weaknesses are more likely to exist.
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.
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.