Deep Persistent Slabs
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Possible
- Size
- 2–3
Recent avalanches: It has been several days since we've had good enough visibility to report avalanche activity in the Seward area. It is likely there was some activity during the most recent storm cycle, but the full extent remains unknown.
We are back into a warm and wet weather pattern this week. Light precipitation started last night and should continue throughout the day with little accumulation expected. Unfortunately, the rain line is expected to move up to 2000' today and continue to rise towards 2400' tonight. Heavier precipitation is expected overnight tonight through Tuesday afternoon, with up to 1 to 2' of new snow above 3000' (1 to 2" of water). Very strong east winds will accompany this wet weather, with averages of 25 to 35 mph expected today, increasing to averages of 50 to 60 mph overnight.
In the long term, this warm and wet weather is going to help the weak layers in our snowpack heal and eventually allow us to put the December facets out of our minds. But for now, there is still a chance someone could trigger a very large avalanche on this weak layer, which is now buried 2 to 5' deep. As this layer is buried deeper, it will act more stubbornly and be harder to assess. This is typical of deep slab avalanche problems, and managing this type of problem requires patience to give the weak layer enough time to fully heal or be buried so deeply that we can no longer trigger avalanches on it.
To safely manage this problem, we continue to recommend avoiding steep slopes - especially larger, more connected terrain or above cliffs, gullies, or trees where the consequences of triggering an avalanche could be more severe.
