Watch for fresh wind slabs at higher elevations and remember to stick to good travel habits while enjoying the new snow.
Confidence
Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Tuesday
Weather Forecast
MONDAY: Continued light flurries with another 4-8 cm of new snow, light southwest winds, alpine temperatures around -15 C.TUESDAY: Isolated flurries with 2-4 cm of new snow, light west winds with moderate gusts, alpine temperatures around -15 C.WEDNESDAY: 5-10 cm of new snow, moderate west winds, alpine temperatures around -10 C.
Avalanche Summary
On Sunday, small avalanches in the new snow were reported including natural and skier triggered size 1 wind slabs. A few size 2 natural avalanches were also reported in alpine terrain, potentially releasing on the mid-February interface 30-40 cm deep.
Snowpack Summary
Flurries delivered another 5-15 cm of low density snow on Saturday night, bring recent totals to 20-40 cm (with the largest amounts in the Monashees). A pulse of moderate winds from a variety of directions formed fresh wind slabs at higher elevations. The the mid-February interface is now buried 30-50 cm deep, and is composed of a thick rain crust up to about 1800 m, sun crusts on steep solar aspects, and spotty surface hoar on shaded aspects. This layer could develop into a persistent slab problem once the snow above it settles into a stiffer slab. The mid and lower snowpack are generally well settled and stable.
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.