A bit of new snow has fallen and freshened up the landscape out there. This new snow has not seen much wind effect yet but caution when it does as it will be sitting on a weak layer of facets on north and/or sun crust on steeper south aspects.
Weather Forecast
Mainly cloudy with light flurries possibly. Temperatures in the alpine -8.0. Winds will be light to moderate (35km) from the southwest. Freezing level is at valley bottom.
Avalanche Summary
Very little to no significant avalanche activity observed in the forecast region today.
Snowpack Summary
K-Country region received up to 10cm of snowfall in the past 24 hours at treeline bringing our storm snow total up to about 25 cm in the alpine. Beneath this storm snow is the January 7th facets. This is a layer that has developed as a result of the long period of cold clear weather over mid December up until recently. The winds were pretty light today but picked up a bit today in the afternoon so there exists the potential for some wind slabs at immediately lee of ridge top and cross wind prone slopes.
Problems
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.
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.