Strong winds may create touchy slabs that are ripe for human triggers.
Confidence
Moderate - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
10-15cm of new snow is forecast for most of the region overnight Tuesday. Accompanying this snow are strong southwesterly winds and up to 1600m freezing levels. Wednesday and Thursday should bring flurries with moderate to strong westerly winds and freezing levels hovering around 1600m.
Avalanche Summary
On Monday no new avalanches were reported in this region.
Snowpack Summary
Wind slabs on lee aspects in alpine and open treeline. 15-20cm recent storm snow is sitting on a crust at most elevations and aspects which will increase the distance that small avalanches run. The mid February layer is down 30-60cm and is a crust in most areas. This layer is generally well bonded to the overlying persistent slab. However, in isolated ares there is surface hoar or facets overlying this crust making the interface much more likely to produce large avalanches.
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.