Enjoy the snow today, as we'll be heading into a natural avalanche cycle this weekend.
Weather Forecast
Unsettled conditions today will bring flurries amounting to 5-10cm today, with light/moderate west winds and freezing levels near valley bottom. Friday and into the weekend looks snowy with significant precipitation coming our way...juicy!
Snowpack Summary
5-10cm of low density snow now overlies various snow surfaces (surface hoar up to 1900m, thin sun crust on steep S aspects). Last week's storm slab continues to bond, with only resistant planar results in tests. Mid pack is well settled. Lower snowpack still has more facetted crystals but is showing signs of strength more typical for this region.
Avalanche Summary
No natural activity was observed in the park yesterday, and skiers continued to report surface sluffing from steeper terrain.
Confidence
Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain
Problems
Storm Slabs
Storm Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer (a slab) of new snow that breaks within new snow or on the old snow surface. Storm-slabs typically last between a few hours and few days (following snowfall). Storm-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.