Strong westerly winds overnight have been accompanied by increasing temperatures. The interface between the recent new snow and the old snow will be a potential bed surface for wind slab avalanche events. Humans who venture into steep avalanche prone terrain at the upper elevations could trigger a wind slab avalanche that is large enough to injure or bury a person. The consequences of being caught in a slide are elevated due to the shallow snow cover. Avalanches are unlikely in areas where the recent new snow accumulated on bare ground. This includes southwest through southeast slopes below an elevation of 10,000 feet and most terrain below an elevation of 8,500 feet.
At the upper elevations pockets of dense wind slab formed by strong west to west-southwest winds could be human triggered to depths of 18 inches in steep, wind loaded avalanche paths and cliff areas.
