Weather Forecast
Increasing clouds for Thursday and some overnight snow flurries will occur into Friday with only light accumulations.
Snowpack Summary
Snowpack is faceting and losing strength in shallow areas. Midpack is still generally supportive above treeline, with wind slabs in lee features at upper elevations. Surface hoar is developing with the cool overnight temperatures and light valley bottom winds.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were observed in the icefields area today. The number of loose snow avalanches has dropped due to the high overcast clouds reducing the solar affect. Some sloughing has occurred on high alpine rock slabs in steep unskiable terrain.
Confidence
Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain on Thursday
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.
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.