A widespread storm slab can be found at higher elevations. Watch for this surface slab to become more reactive on steep solar aspects if exposed to prolonged March sunlight.
Weather Forecast
Cloudy with sunny periods and isolated convective flurries today. Alpine temperature should reach -12C and be accompanied by westerly winds up to moderate. Similar weather will grace the landscape until midweek along with SW winds.
Snowpack Summary
~25 cm new snow in the last 72 hrs. This buries firm wind slab on all aspects above tree line and on solar aspects it buries a crust. The late Feb crust/facet combo is down 30-50cm on solar aspects and has potential to be a good bed surface. The January PWL's are buried 150-200cm
Avalanche Summary
Saturday's snowfall produced a natural avalanche cycle to size 3. On Saturday field teams observed a touchy storm slab in leeward features treeline and above. A party in the Loop Brook drainage noted an avalanche from Mt Ross that ran into the creek at the valley bottom covering previous ski tracks.
Confidence
Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain
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.
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.