Freezing levels and solar radiation are somewhat uncertain for the next few days. If the sun is out and the snow is moist or wet, avalanches will be more likely.
Confidence
Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain
Weather Forecast
A weak ridge of high pressure will maintain mainly dry and progressively cooler conditions for the forecast period. Tuesday: Very light precipitation and generally overcast skies / Moderate to strong southwest winds / Freezing level at 2000m Wednesday: Mainly clear skies / Light northwest winds / Freezing level at 1500m Thursday: Mainly clear skies / Light northwest winds / Freezing level at 2000m
Avalanche Summary
No avalanches were reported on Monday.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 50 cm of settled storm snow has been saturated by rain up to about 2100m. Surfaces may be moist or refrozen, depending on current temperatures. At the highest elevations you might find dense, stubborn wind slabs in lee terrain. New cornice development has also been noted. The older storm snow overlies a hard crust and/or surface hoar layer which formed in early January. The bond at this interface will be largely elevation dependant as rain may have penetrated the snowpack enough to dissolve the crust in many areas. At higher elevations where snow has fallen, this interface may still be reactive although no recent avalanches have been reported at this interface.Deeper snowpack weaknesses seem to have become unreactive, and should become even less of a concern if the forecast cooling trend verifies.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.