Another round of snow, wind, and warm temperatures!
Natural avalanches are expected - avoid avalanche terrain and overhead hazard. Weak layers may produce full path avalanches.
Large avalanches have failed on deeply buried surface hoar or on a crust. Persistent slab avalanches will become more likely with increased load, and warm temperatures.
Ongoing loading will continue unstable conditions. Slabs may fail on a variety of mid storm interfaces including density changes, and crusts.
A widespread avalanche cycle to size 3.5 occurred over the last week, with continued snowfall. Avalanches failed within the storm snow, and on buried weak layers - creating large avalanches running from alpine start zones into below treeline terrain.
Continued loading from snow, wind and rain is expected to produce further avalanche cycles of this nature.
Storm totals continue to rise! Another 10-40 cm of new snow adds to the 50-150 cm of rapidly settling snow from the last week. In some areas, a crust can be found buried 20-45 cm deep.
Below all of this storm snow, sits a weak layer of facets - more common in wind-exposed terrain, or surface hoar - most likely in sheltered treeline features.
A hard crust from mid November sits 130-160 cm deep, with faceted snow above. This layer has recently produced large avalanches due to increased loading.
Sunday Night
Cloudy. 5 to 15 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1700 m.
Monday
Cloudy. 10 to 20 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 2000 m.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 15 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 1500 m.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. 15 to 25 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
