The complex upper snowpack is still adjusting to the new load. If we receive more than 10cm of snow today, expect the danger rating to bump up at treeline and below treeline.
Weather Forecast
A cold front should pass through the area today, bringing up to 10cm today, with an additional 5cm tonight. Freezing levels should stay below 1200m, and winds will be moderate from the SW. In the wake of the cold front, unsettled conditions will prevail with light flurries through Thursday.
Snowpack Summary
80 to 90cm of recent storm snow overlies the Mar 13 and 14 crusts that are within 10cm of each other on solar aspects. The 13th being a lot thicker. Snowpack tests Monday on this layer produced a Rutschblock 3 whole block . Below this the Mar 2 crust is down 110-130cm and below that the Feb 10 layer is down around 2 to 2.25m.
Avalanche Summary
Natural activity in the highway corridor eased yesterday with the cloud cover. A report of a size 2 in the Hospital Knob area of Connaught came in yesterday afternoon. It was suspected to have failed on the more recent, shallower crusts.
Confidence
Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
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.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.
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.