Hazard remains moderate for the uppermost elevations of Douglas today with a very similar setup as yesterday. We received up to 4 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours at elevation with rain at lower elevations. New snow combined with ESE winds with max gusts of 40 mph overnight combine to form a storm slab and possible wind slabs near ridgetops. In general snowpack was unreactive to triggering yesterday but could be more reactive today on unsupported steeper slopes and on windloaded Northerly aspects.
Today's avalanche forecast is made possible by The Juneau Snowmobile Club https://www.facebook.com/juneausnowmobileclub/
Snowfall rates declined overnight however our storm slab has continued to recieve new loading over the last 24 hour period. This slab is sitting on top of a crust of melt forms that is highly variable in both thickness and hardness depending on elevation. Look for signs of reactivity at this new storm snow/crust interface.
Winds ramped up again overnight with the top of Eaglecrest seeing gusts as strong as 40mph out of the ESE. While most snow came in wet and heavy it may have come in light enough near ridgetops to promote windloading on Northerly aspects that could be reactive to triggering. Look for shooting cracks, "fat" looking pockets, and hollow sounds to identify wind slab.
Over the last 24 hours the mountains of Douglas Island saw light showery precipitation and periods of moderate to strong winds generally from the E-SE. Temps were extremely maritime in nature as the powder patch weather station at Eaglecrest only saw a 2 degree diurnal temperature swing for the 24 hour period. The snow line stayed around 1800' of elevation and dropped slightly overnight. Eaglecrest ski patrol did explosive tests in the west bowl of eaglecrest and found very stubborn avalanche conditions. Tests produced a single D1-1.5 storm slab avalanche with a depth of 8" and width of 15m. With slighty cooler temps and diminishing winds we expect both of the current avalanche problems to trend towards stability over the comming days however the new snowfall and strong winds at times over the last 48 hours warrants a cautious approach to upper elevation slopes and wind loaded features.
