Yesterdays snowfall was accompanied by very strong west winds. These winds became northwesterly as snowfall diminished during the evening. At the mid and high elevations new wind slabs have formed upon good sliding surfaces. Skiers and riders have the potential to trigger these slabs as well as older slabs that lie upon persistent weak layers in the snowpack. At low elevations isolated pockets of shallow slabs could be triggered.
Wind slabs lie in the backcountry that were formed by yesterdays strong west to northwest winds. These slabs will be most susceptible to human triggers above 9000 feet where the most wind loading occurred. Crown depths to one foot are possible. Watch out for and avoid areas with obvious wind loading in steep high elevation terrain.
Persistent layers of faceted snow lie in the snowpack. Slabs laying on these layers vary from one foot to as much as four feet in depth. These older hard slabs could be triggered after initiation of a new wind slab, by a single person hitting a weak spot or by larger loads such as snow machines. Particularly steep, rocky avalanche prone paths should be avoided today.
Cold arctic air will continue to seep into the region. Some light snowfall is likely overnight with a couple of inches of light density snow possible in areas favored by a northwest flow. On Sunday skies will slowly clear as the snowfall diminishes. Temperatures in the mountains will be in the single digits above and below zero. Winds along the higher ridge crests will be northwesterly at 15 to 20 miles per hour.At the mid and upper elevations the general avalanche hazard is expected to be MODERATE. Surface slabs one to two feet in depth could be human triggered and could step down though weak layers of faceted snow to depths of four feet. At the lower elevations the general avalanche hazard is expected to be LOW. Isolated pockets of wind slab up to a foot in depth could be human triggered in some steep wind loaded avalanche starting zones.
