We could see a dusting of snow on Friday. Not enough to raise avalanche danger, but maybe it will improve snow quality a little.
Confidence
Good - The weather pattern is stable
Weather Forecast
A weak trough of low pressure will bring some cloud and a chance of flurries on Friday. Generally we’re looking at 2-5 cm with a snow line at valley bottom. The ridge of high pressure rebuilds for the weekend resulting in mainly sunny skies. The freezing level is around 600-800 m on Saturday and little over 1000 m on Sunday. Winds are generally light or moderate from the NW-NE.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches have been reported recently.
Snowpack Summary
10 to 15cm of old storm snow sits on a thick supportive crust that extends up to around 2200m. Variable winds have created wind affected surfaces and pockets of wind slab in exposed terrain at higher elevations. Below 2200m the crust is effectively capping the snowpack, preventing riders from tickling deeper persistent weak layers. In alpine areas, where the crust is not present or is less thick, it could still be possible to trigger a deep avalanche from sparsely covered rocky slopes or with a heavy load (i.e. cornice fall).
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.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.