Regions
Northwest Inland.
Use caution in wind affected terrain,. Pay attention to warming on solar aspects, and give cornice features a wide berth.
Confidence
Fair - Due to the number and quality of field observations
Weather Forecast
Sunny with some cloudy periods for the forecast period. Mostly light south alpine winds are expected. Daytime highs will bring the freezing level to around 1500m for the next few days. The next Pacific frontal system is forecast to enter the region late Thursday.
Avalanche Summary
Few reports of loose wet sluffs on solar aspects in the afternoon. Cornices have been getting large and ripe
Snowpack Summary
Recent storm snow brings the total for the last few precipitation events to 50cm in some parts of the forecast area. This accumulated storm snow is sitting on a variety of old crusty surfaces. In addition, recent winds have scoured windward slopes and loaded lee features. A crust with surface hoar buried on March 25th has been identified as a potential problem in parts of the forecast region, but appears to be unreactive at this time. At the base of the snowpack, especially in areas of shallow snow, weak facets may be found. Cornices are now large and potentially fragile, and solar aspects are becoming active in the late afternoons.
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.