A warming trend is forecast for the next several days. Expect the afternoon avalanche danger to spike higher and higher every day until the end of next week.
Watch for moist/wet avalanches during peak daytime warming. Steeper sunny slopes and areas with a thin snowpack are the most affected by solar radiation.
A gradual warming trend is in the forecast, reaching it's peak late in the week where little to no overnight recovery will be seen.
Tonight: Mainly cloudy, Alpine low -2*C, light east ridgetop wind
Sun: Sunny periods, High 3*C, Freezing level (Fzl) 2400m, light S wind
Mon: Cloudy, Low 2*C, High 4*C, Fzl 2700m
Tues: Cloudy. Low 2*C, High 2*C, Fzl 2500m
We have 2 distinct snowpacks.
Below treeline the spring-time melt-freeze snowpack is solid in the morning, and breaks down with daytime warming.
In the Alpine, on N'ly slopes you'll find a more winterlike snowpack with settled dry powder, and variable crusty surfaces on solar aspects.
Cornices are large and looming- give these a wide berth.
Friday, there was a loose wet size 3 from Gunners 3, a South facing highway avalanche path. Several other loose moist avalanches size 1-2 were noted from mainly S-W facing paths.
On Thursday, there was a size 3 cornice failure in the Tractor Shed East highway avalanche path.
