Weather Forecast
Thursday night and Friday: The ridge of high pressure that has been blocking the weather patterns is beginning to weaken and an upper trough will move in. Cloudy skies and light flurries are expected for the day with moderate winds from the West and cooler more seasonal temperatures in the alpine (-5 C).Saturday: A bit of a clearing with few to scattered skies and valley clouds, no precipitation forecasted and moderate Southwesterly winds. Temperatures stay similar.Sunday: A front should move across the region bringing light precipitation with light Southwesterly winds and cooler temperatures.
Avalanche Summary
A few small loose wet avalanches were observed in the alpine on steep solar aspects yesterday.
Snowpack Summary
There is a mix of snowpack surfaces going from wind slabs on various aspects under ridgetops in the alpine, widespread loose facets15-20 cm thick, surface hoar mostly at treeline and below treeline and a solar crusts on South aspects. The forecast strong winds from the SW and W could further build the windslabs on lee features. Sluffing is also very likely on steep slopes on all aspects and all elevations. The mid layers of the snowpack have settled and are generally reported to be strong. Weak layers that were developed in November continue to show the odd sudden collapse result in snowpack tests, but have not been reactive to skier or snowmobile traffic. Thin snowpack areas are the most likely place for deeper layers to be reactive to the additional load of a skier or rider.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind 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.