Incoming snow is unlikely to bond well to previous surfaces, watch for fast running sluffs if forecast snowfall accumulations materialize.
Weather Forecast
A weak arctic front will push the upper ridge currently over our area to the south on Thursday, bringing colder temps and flurries to our area through Friday. Snowfall accumulations are expected to be less than 5 cm, temperatures will fluctuate between highs of -10 and lows of -20 degrees C, and winds will remain light from the SW swinging to NE.
Snowpack Summary
Traces of new snow have covered previous surfaces; a thin weak suncrust on solar aspects, old unreactive windslab in exposed areas, surface hoar up to 5mm in size in sheltered locations and surfaces facets in shaded areas below treeline. A surface hoar layer down 40-60cm in some treeline & alpine locations continues to gain strength.
Avalanche Summary
There has been no recent avalanche activity observed or reported. Isolated small natural avalanches were observed as a result of last weekends wind event.
Confidence
Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Problems
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.