A heavy snowfall warning has been issued for the region. If the forecast comes true, danger levels will rise to HIGH due to recent storm slab development. Keep an eye on localized snowfall amounts.
Confidence
Fair - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain
Weather Forecast
A heavy snowfall warning is in effect for the region and a further 30cm of snow is possible by late Monday morning. Temperatures will be near -5 celsius at ridgetop on Monday with a clearing trend towards the end of the day. Winds are expected to be light and variable.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing was observed or reported today, but observations were very limited due to poor visibility. It is expected that a natural avalanche cycle will begin late Sunday or early Monday in the alpine and at treeline.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 15cm of snow has fallen at treeline over the past 36hrs. This snow has now buried crusts on steep solar aspects at all elevations. On Saturday strong SW winds formed thin storm slabs in lee and cross-loaded terrain in alpine and treeline areas, but further storm slab development slowed down on Sunday. Much of the precipitation fell as rain at lower elevations on Saturday and temperatures dropped overnight. A new rain crust now exists at lower elevations with a small amount of new snow sitting on top.
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.
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.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.