New snow came in last night atop of 2 feet from this week sits on top of a buried surface hoar with a solid icecrust bed surface underneath. Wind loaded areas with new wind slabs will be the chief complaint as it adds weight to the weak surface hoar layer.
New snow overnight with moderate winds poses an increase in avalanche hazard due to increased wind slab formation. Yesterday in the Selkirks we observed some cracking and heard occasional whumphing. With more wind and snow expect to see more of this with possibility of seeing natural avalanches in steep exposed terrain in the upper elevations.
We have a very prominent surface hoar layer that sits atop a very firm ice crust that has been very reactive since last weekend. It isnt going away anytime soon and the new snow will only add to the weight that is put on this week layer. If one was to trigger an avalanche on this layer, things could step down through the ice crust where it is thinner and potential to step down to other persistent weak layers exists.
We picked up 5" at the Schweitzer snotel and 6" at the Bear Mountain, and 4" at Hidden Lake. This is added to up to 2 feet of recent storm snow in the upper elevations and about a foot in mid elevations at best. Observe the density of the new storm snow as it could be on the heavy side in mid elevations and could be getting some solar effect today with the expected weather.
In the Selkirk range yesterday we observed some natural avalanches from last weekend, some cracking on convex rollovers, and some occasional whumphing. This was primarily on ridgetop and wind effected areas where slab formation has happened due to wind. There were moderate winds out of the SW with some switching out of the N. With the 5-6 inches of new snow last night accompanied by wind, expect to see more of the same. We have new storm and wind slabs, a persistent buried surface hoar layer, and a smooth bed surface of ice crust on a fairly deep snowpack. Many of the anchors that have been out there are buried under the ice crust which makes more of a smooth avalanche sliding surface across the landscape. Observe the bulls eye information and make decisions according to what you are seeing. As you climb in elevation it changes quickly.
