Loose Wet
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Unlikely
- Size
- 1–1.5
Limited amounts of surface wet snow are expected to form by late morning in isolated areas. Slopes that have both direct sun exposure and wind protection, especially at low to mid elevations, are expected to experience the most snow surface melt today. With strong SW winds and afternoon cloud cover in the forecast, many slopes are expected to remain frozen all day. If you encounter more than a couple of inches of surface wet snow, or if the snow surface feels like it is becoming unsupportable, consider opting for slopes that are not steep enough to avalanche.
Snow surface refreeze conditions last night were best above about 8,000', where air temperatures were below freezing. Skies were clear last night up until about 2 am, which should have allowed for a weaker, superficial snow surface refreeze to occur on open slopes across E-S-W aspects in the areas that remained above freezing last night. Very little refreeze is expected to have occurred under areas of thick forest canopy in the locations where air temperatures remained above freezing last night. Little to no snow surface melt occurred yesterday across shaded or steeper NW-N-NE aspects, so those areas are likely still quite firm this morning at all elevations.
A limited window of snow surface melt is expected today as morning cloud cover moves out and sunny skies occur before the next, thicker wave of cloud cover moves in for this afternoon. Avalanches of wet, loose snow are unlikely today on a regional scale. An isolated area of instability might occur in an area of deeper wet snow where the right set of conditions comes together in terms of sun exposure, wind protection, avalanche terrain, and a backcountry traveler as the trigger.