A rising freezing level and clear skies will destabilize the surface snow in the short term.
Confidence
Moderate - Freezing levels are uncertain
Weather Forecast
SATURDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / light south wind / Alpine temperature 4 / Freezing level 1500m SUNDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Light to moderate south wind / Alpine temperature 8 / Freezing level 2000m MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud / Light south wind / Alpine temperature 12 / Freezing level 2500m
Avalanche Summary
No recent notable avalanches have been reported.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 45cm of new snow at upper elevations accumulating Thursday and Friday has begun to settle and bond and has been redistributed by southerly winds. This new snow sits on a sun crust or moist snow on steep south-facing slopes, cold dry snow on northerly aspects, and an overall well settled snowpack. Thursday's precipitation fell as rain below 1200m where the surface snow is either wet or presents as a crust.Cornices have formed on many alpine ridge lines. They will become touchier as they grow in size, as temperatures rise, and as they are subject to the strong late-winter sun on clear days.
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.
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.