Recent snow and strong winds have produced touchy wind slabs. Watch for signs of avalanche activity and locally unstable snow, such as whumpfing and shooting cracks.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
MONDAY: Partly cloudy, light northeasterly winds, alpine temperature -15 C, freezing level below valley bottom.TUESDAY: Mostly sunny, light westerly winds, alpine temperature near -12 C, freezing level below valley bottom.WEDNESDAY: Mostly sunny, moderate westerly winds, alpine temperature near -11 C, freezing level below valley bottom.
Avalanche Summary
Naturally triggered storm slabs were noted up to size 2.5 between 1800 and 2100 m on Sunday. They were 20 to 40 cm deep and on northerly to easterly aspects. One of the avalanches was likely triggered by a cornice fall during Saturday's storm.On Saturday, Many small to large (size 1 to 2) storm slabs and cornices were triggered by explosive control at treeline and alpine elevations. The storm slabs were about 20 cm deep on north to northeast aspects.
Snowpack Summary
Around 50-80 cm of recent snow has created storm slabs. The snow fell with strong variable winds, creating wind slabs in direct lee features on all aspects. This overlies a surface hoar layer and a melt-freeze crust buried mid-February up to 1800 m, and old wind slabs and a sun crust at higher elevations.Deeper in the snowpack, a widespread weak layer from mid-December composed of facets, crusts, and surface hoar is 120-160 cm deep. Also, a rain crust with sugary facets buried in late November is near the base of the snowpack. There has been regular avalanche activity on these layers over the past month. If triggered, they could produce large, destructive avalanches with high consequences.
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.
Cornices
Cornice Fall is the release of an overhanging mass of snow that forms as the wind moves snow over a sharp terrain feature, such as a ridge, and deposits snow on the downwind (leeward) side. Cornices range in size from small wind drifts of soft snow to large overhangs of hard snow that are 30 feet (10 meters) or taller. They can break off the terrain suddenly and pull back onto the ridge top and catch people by surprise even on the flat ground above the slope. Even small cornices can have enough mass to be destructive and deadly. Cornice Fall can entrain loose surface snow or trigger slab avalanches.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.