A slight warming trend is expected sunday night. Likely not a problem, but warm air in combination with clear skies may increase the hazard.
Weather Forecast
Minus 13 overnight with light westerly winds. Daytime highs will rise to -8 on sunday. No snow for the next few days. Some forecasts call for cloud, while others are calling for sun tomorrow. Time will tell...
Avalanche Summary
A few minor sluffs out of steep terrain, only involved the storm snow.
Snowpack Summary
Slightly more snow came in last night than was forecasted. It looked as though the alpine winds were strong enough to create fresh windslabs. In some areas, these will sit on the older windslabs. No indication yet if the bond between the two is suspect. The new snow means that the spotty surface hoar from earlier in the week is now buried. Again, not a problem because the burial depth is not very deep. Other than that no significant change to the snowpack. Below treeline is still below threshold for any avalanches.
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.