Wednesday could be the first warm day with intense solar radiation. This may lead to an increase in avalanche hazard on solar aspects. Pay attention to localized conditions.
Weather Forecast
Wednesday looks to be another nice day, at least to start. A sunny morning will likely turn to an overcast afternoon with possible very light flurries. Winds will be light from the east, and temperatures will climb to near -7 by the afternoon. Thursday and Friday are expected to be cloudy with very light flurries.
Avalanche Summary
No new natural avalanches were observed today, but helicopter avalanche control work produced several loose and slab avalanches in steeper Alpine terrain up to size 2.0. In general, these slides traveled fairly far due to the loose facets.
Snowpack Summary
Wind slabs can be found in Alpine areas in the the typical places; lee and cross-loaded terrain, gullies, and immediately below ridge-crests. As you descend to Treeline these slabs seem to quickly disappear, likely due to the persistent facetting. Overall the snowpack is very weak and it is possible that loose snow facet avalanches could occur at any elevation, triggered by solar input, cornice failures, loose rocks or a skier/rider. These slides have the potential to run far and could be problematic in gullies and similar terrain traps. At low elevations expect ski penetration to ground if you leave an established track.
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.
Deep Persistent Slabs
Deep Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a thick cohesive layer of hard snow (a slab), when the bond breaks between the slab and an underlying persistent weak layer deep in the snowpack. The most common persistent weak layers involved in deep, persistent slabs are depth hoar or facets surrounding a deeply buried crust. Deep Persistent Slabs are typically hard to trigger, are very destructive and dangerous due to the large mass of snow involved, and can persist for months once developed. They are often triggered from areas where the snow is shallow and weak, and are particularly difficult to forecast for and manage.
Loose Dry
Loose Dry avalanches are the release of dry unconsolidated snow and typically occur within layers of soft snow near the surface of the snowpack. These avalanches start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-dry avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs.