Winds and wind loading remain the primary concern at and above treeline. As these slabs build they become more sensitive to human triggering. Current forecasts do not show much more than few centimeters of new snow over the next few days.
Weather Forecast
A relatively warm, moist NW upper air flow has been producing some light flurries in areas close to the divide. A colder air mass is trailing behind the current warm front and temps will gradually decline over the next 24-48 hours. Little new precipitation is expected.
Avalanche Summary
Only a few natural, loose, dry sluffs up to Size 1 have been observed in the past 24 hours although visibility was limited at times.
Snowpack Summary
Minimal (1cm) new snow over the previous 24 hours. A strong temperature gradient is resulting in increased facetting and progressive weakening within the snowpack. A W-NW flow through day is contributing toward additional redistribution of storm snow at and above treeline.
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.
Persistent Slabs
Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.