With only a few centimeters of snow expected Thursday, little change is expected in the hazard levels. Wind slabs can still be triggered in steep/unsupported terrain, especially where the snowpack is shallow.
Weather Forecast
Wednesday will be cloudy with sunny periods with no precipitation. Alpine temperatures should reach a high of -3 °C with very light ridge-top winds. Freezing levels will climb to 1900 metres. Thursday will be significantly cooler with up to 5cm of new snow possible.
Avalanche Summary
Nothing new in the past 48hrs.
Snowpack Summary
Very little change in the snowpack over the last few days. Cool temperatures at lower elevations have led to a fair amount of facetting. Some surface hoar growth has occurred in sheltered areas below 2000m. Sun crusts of various thicknesses are found on steep solar aspects. Alpine areas continue to exhibit widespread wind slab conditions. These wind slabs did produce a few very small slab avalanches over the weekend that were triggered by skiers/riders in steep, unsupported and or shallow snowpack terrain.
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.