The snowpack is changing due to the increase in winds. Looking ahead to tomorrow, the new fresh slabs will be a significant concern.
Weather Forecast
Steady winds overnight with a stronger pulse early in the morning. By late tomorrow afternoon, the upper elevation winds will approach 100km/r from the west. No new snow is expected. Tomorrow's high temp will reach -8 at 2200m. A slight temperature inversion is also expected tomorrow.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new.
Snowpack Summary
Low down, the settlement from the past few warm days is quite noticeable. Unfortunately, the faceting in the mid to lower pack is still obvious. In many places, the snow has that distinct "upside down" feel to it. The exposed surface hoar has begun to break down with the warmth. At treeline the winds have created widespread windslabs that are sitting on either weak facets, or in some isolated areas, the preserved surface hoar from Dec 15. The alpine now has windslabs on N-S aspects from today's moderate westerly winds. So far no layers have woken up, but during our field day today we had the feeling that the snowpack is changing for the worse.
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.