Sunday should be a bit cooler, but pay attention to the temperatures and radiation. Start early and finish early! Mon and Tues will see a spike in hazard due to very high freezing levels both days and rain to mountain top on Tuesday.
Confidence
Good - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain
Weather Forecast
Sunday should bring a slightly cooler day with gusty west winds and freezing levels near 1900 metres. Monday will be hot with freezing levels climbing to 3000 metres. Tuesday may bring some rain and freezing levels near 3000 metres.
Avalanche Summary
A few naturally triggered and cornice triggered slides have been observed today. Theses avalanches ranged in size from 1.5 to 2.5 and were all associated with the warming trend or solar radiation. All of the avalanches observed today stepped to the basal facets and went full depth.
Snowpack Summary
Up to 10cm of snow fell overnight, but this quickly settled through the day due to warm temperatures. Crusts are melting during the day and re-forming each night, except on North aspects at higher elevations. Thin wind slabs can be found in the immediate lees of ridgelines at higher elevations. The basal facets and depth hoar are a concern when the temperatures rise and the solar radiation is strong. There is potential for large full depth avalanches due to this basal weakness.
Problems
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.
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
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.