Happy Holidays! If you're heading out don't forget your thermos.
Weather Forecast
If you got socks for Christmas... wear them all. Tuesday will see some cloud building through the day as the leading edge of a cold air mass slides down across our area. Alpine lows will be -21, and highs will be -18.We may see some traces of light precip Wednesday, but little accumulation. Temps remain cold until at least the end of the week.
Snowpack Summary
Isolated pockets of wind-slab in exposed areas at upper elevations, these may overlie an old snow interface of facets, crust, and surface hoar. Several other noticeable crusts lie dormant deeper in the snowpack.
Avalanche Summary
Explosive control at the local hill yesterday produced a few small avalanches from isolated pockets of wind slab. No new avalanches have been reported or observed along the parkway.
Confidence
The weather pattern is stable
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.