Avalanche Forecast

Saturday night: Cloudy, isolated flurries with trace accumulations, moderate southwest wind, freezing level dropping to 1400 m, alpine temperatures reach -3 C. 

Sunday: Cloudy, 5-15 cm of snow, moderate southwest wind, freezing level climbing to 1800 m in the afternoon, alpine temperatures reach -1 C. 

Monday: Cloudy, 10-20 cm of snow, moderate to strong southwest wind, freezing level climbing to 1500 m in the afternoon, alpine temperatures reach -2 C. 

Tuesday: Decreasing cloud, light flurries overnight, light southwest wind, freezing level climbing to 1300 m in the afternoon, alpine temperatures reach -5 C. 

No recent avalanches have been reported, but mountain travel and field observations are very limited. Recent snow could form wind slabs with the potential to be reactive above the surface hoar that formed over the past week.

Incremental snowfall continues to accumulate at upper elevations. Moderate southwest winds may drift the new snow into slabs on leeward terrain features. This snow sits above a variable mix of crusts, warm snow, and hard old wind slabs. It may also sit above some small surface hoar on shaded aspects. There is some uncertainty about how well the new snow will bond to these interfaces. Weak layers in the upper snowpack have trended towards dormancy. The most prominent and widespread layer was buried in late February and is now 40 to 80 cm deep. This layer was most commonly found in open trees and has produced a few isolated avalanches over the past month.

• Wind slabs are most reactive during their formation.
• Avoid terrain traps where the consequence of any avalanche could be serious.