Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Treeline
Natural avalanches possible, human triggered probable.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Regions
Northwest Inland.
We might hang on for one more cool day before warm and wet weather invades early next week.
Confidence
Poor - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
Sunday: Cloudy with a chance of flurries in the afternoon. The freezing level should stay near valley bottom. Winds remain moderate from the S-SE. Monday: Cloudy with flurries. The freezing level should stay near valley bottom. Winds increase to strong from the S-SE. Tuesday: Periods of rain or snow. The freezing level climbs to 1800-2000 m and winds increase to very strong or extreme from the S-SW.
Avalanche Summary
There are no new avalanche reports from the region. Please let us know what you're seeing out there. Email us at [email protected].
Snowpack Summary
Recent reports describe a shallow, highly variable, and wind affected snowpack with an average snow depth of 60 to 100 cm. A dusting of new snow may be covering a mix of surface hoar, sugary facets, wind slab, or a crust depending on elevation and aspect. In some places a crust might be buried 20-40 cm deep, while in wind-exposed areas it could still be on the surface. Deeper in the snowpack you may find another rain crust (with facets above or below) that formed earlier in the season. There's not much recent info on the strength of these crust interfaces.
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.