The Avalanche Danger will rise as new snow accumulates throughout the day on Sunday. Watch for wind slabs in lee terrain.
Confidence
Fair - Intensity of incoming weather systems is uncertain on Sunday
Weather Forecast
A series of pacific frontal systems will bring snowfall to the region throughout the forecast period. There is some model disagreement with forecast snowfall amounts; however, some models are calling for up to 10cm on Sunday and 10cm on Monday. Very light accumulations are forecast for Tuesday. Winds should remain moderate from the southwest with freezing levels hovering around 1000m.
Avalanche Summary
No recent avalanches reported. I would expect a round of wind slab activity with new snow and wind forecast for Sunday
Snowpack Summary
Last week snow surfaces were heavily saturated by rain up to at least 2100m. Pretty much all snow surfaces now sport a hard frozen crust. At the highest elevations you might find dense, stubborn wind slabs in lee terrain. New snow and wind forecast for Sunday will likely form new wind slabs. These wind slabs may be particularly reactive due to the underlying crust.Deeper snowpack weaknesses have been largely rendered inactive by the strong capping crust layer. If there is an area of concern for deeper weaknesses, it would be in the north of the region near Goldbridge, where a deep persistent slab from 26-Jan was remote-triggered on surface hoar buried 70 cm below the surface. Steep convexities and thin-to-thick trigger areas in the high alpine may still have the potential to release a slab in this part of the region.
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.