The avalanche danger is expected to increase from Low this morning to Moderate during the latter part of afternoon as a storm system begins to form new sensitive soft slabs at the upper elevations. Once both wind speeds and snowfall increase, areas of steep terrain that are undergoing rapid loading should be avoided.
New snow that is to fall this afternoon and increasing winds will continue to increase the size and sensitivity of wind slabs that started to form with yesterday’s light snow. By sunset, these soft slabs could be triggered in wind loaded areas with depths of 6 to 10 inches.
The incoming storm will deposit snow on a snowpack that has hard crusts on south facing terrain and faceted snow on north facing terrain. On other aspects, snow surfaces can favor one of these two types or be a combination of both crusts and facets. The timing of the storm will be the factor in determining when the new slabs will develop to a large enough size to actually be a concern today. The heavy snow and strong winds that are forecast overnight will further increase the size and sensitivity of these wind slabs to the point where natural avalanche activity will become possible.
