Wet loose avalanches may gain enough mass to trigger a weak layer in the upper snowpack.
Avoid sun-exposed slopes, especially if the snow surface is moist or wet.
Facets have developed over a crust formed after the atmospheric river. This layer is now buried 75 cm deep and has been reactive in snowpack tests. Wet loose avalanches may gain enough mass to trigger this layer.
Roughly 25 cm of new snow will be impacted by solar radiation likely initiating dry and/or wet loose avalanche activity.
Numerous natural and skier triggered dry loose avalanches were reported on Monday.
We expect this trend to continue through Tuesday when new snow sees sunny skies for the first time. A persistent weak layer down 70 cm may be triggered by wet loose avalanches, especially in areas where more than 20 cm of storm snow fell.
Up to 30 cm of new snow has buried various surfaces depending on aspect and elevation: melt-freeze crust on solar aspects, and wind-affected at treeline and above.
The recent snow sits on a thick crust and the snowpack below is moist to ground and well settled in most locations. Northerly aspects in the alpine may still be an exception.
The snowpack depth tapers rapidly at lower elevations.
Monday Night
Clear skies. 20 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
Wednesday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 10 cm of snow. 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
