Regions
South Coast Inland.
Although the storm has eased off, storm slabs are still likely to be encountered and could be reactive to human triggering, especially in wind loaded areas and as temperatures rise.
Weather Forecast
WEDNESDAY NIGHT - Mainly cloudy / west winds,15-20 km/h / alpine low temperature near -4THURSDAY - Mainly cloudy / west winds,15-20 km/h / alpine high temperature near -1 / alpine temperature inversionFRIDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods / northwest winds,10-30 km/h / alpine high temperature near +3 / freezing level 1500 m / alpine temperature inversionSATURDAY - Cloudy with sunny periods / southwest winds, 20-30 km/h / alpine high temperature near +4 / freezing level 3000 m
Avalanche Summary
A few natural and human triggered avalanches to size 1.5 were reported in the region on Tuesday.No new avalanches were reported on Monday.A few small (size 1) wind slab avalanches were triggered naturally in the region on Sunday.
Snowpack Summary
A few stormy days brought total recent snowfall amounts to approximately 40-70 cm. This snow fell onto a sun crust on south facing slopes, a melt freeze crust below approximately 1700 m on all aspects, and surface hoar (feathery crystals) in areas sheltered from the wind at all elevations. The recent snow may not bond well to these layers.In some areas, another weak layer of surface hoar is buried about 60 to 100 cm in sheltered areas around treeline elevations.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.