Snowfall may be taper today but human triggering remains likely. Head out with a conservative mindset and avoid wind-loaded areas.
If you see greater than 25 cm of new snow, treat the avalanche danger as HIGH.
Overnight, 10-30 cm of new snow and strong southwest winds will have built reactive storm slabs, especially in lee, wind loaded areas.
In areas that have received 25cm or more overnight, new snow may form a more widespread storm slab or loose dry problem in sheltered areas, particularly where it overlies the old hard surface or weak facetted snow.
A juicy warm front impacting the coast will bring heavy snowfall overnight on Saturday, strong southwest winds and rising temperatures.
Saturday Overnight: Heavy snowfall, 10-25 cm accumulation. Strong southwest winds. Alpine temperatures rising to -10 C
Sunday: Snowfall easing, 2-10 cm accumulation, heaviest in the afternoon. Strong to extreme southwest winds. Alpine temperatures around -8 C.
Monday: Light snowfall, up to 5 cm accumulation. Strong to extreme southwest winds. Freezing levels rising to 300 m.
Tuesday: Continued snowfall, up to 5 cm accumulation. Strong southwest winds. Freezing levels at 300 m.
Observations have been limited. If you are out in the mountains, let us know what you see by filling out a Mountain Information Network report!
Overnight, snowfall and strong southwest winds will have created fresh, reactive storm slabs.
This storm's 10-30 cm of new snow overlies a previously wind-affected surface comprised of old hard wind slabs, sastrugi, and areas stripped back to the ground or old crusts. Near-surface faceting above the old surface may increase the reactivity of newly formed storm slabs.
The base of the snowpack is composed of crusts and weak faceted grains, particularly in thin snowpack areas. While these layers have generally gone dormant in the region, they still have the possibility of waking up with new snow load or warming, and wind slab avalanches may still have the potential to step down to these deeper layers in isolated areas.
