The Avalanche Danger will rise as new snow accumulates on Sunday. Watch for changing conditions throughout the day.
Confidence
Fair - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Sunday
Weather Forecast
A series of pacific frontal systems will bring snowfall to the region throughout the forecast period. There is some model disagreement with forecast snowfall amounts; however, some models are calling for up to 15cm on Sunday and 15cm on Monday. Very light accumulations are forecast for Tuesday. Winds should remain moderate from the southwest with freezing levels hovering around 1000m.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanches have been reported. If snow accumulations are significant on Sunday, there may be a round of wind slab activity in high elevation terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Last week snow surfaces were heavily saturated by rain up to at least 2100m. Cooling has frozen the snow surface into a hard crust at most elevations. At the highest elevations you might find dense, stubborn wind slabs in lee terrain. New snow over the next few days is expected to form new wind slabs in lee, higher elevation terrain. These wind slabs may be especially reactive due to the underlying crust. Deeper snowpack weaknesses have become unreactive on account of the strong capping crust layer.
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.