Watch for building wind slabs in the alpine and at treeline.
A thin snowpack is still presenting early-season hazards such as exposed rocks and trees.
Consistent winds have begun to transport Tuesday night's storm snow. This will present a problem primarily in wind-affected areas in the alpine and at treeline but less so below treeline areas where it is getting transported to bare ground.
A few small loose dry avalanches have been reported in the region. These have mostly been in the alpine and treeline elevations. One size 2 natural observed on a northeast aspect in the alpine. If you head into the backcountry consider submitting a MIN report.
At 1900 m our snowpack ranges between 30 and 90 cm. The top 15 to 25 cm is light low-density snow that is primed for wind transport. This sits on a variety of surfaces. At lower and even mid elevations, it is sitting on bare ground and at higher elevations, it can be found sitting on a variety of surfaces, melt-freeze crust, or surface hoar. Due to cold temperatures and a thin snowpack basal snow is expected to lack cohesion.
Thursday Night
Clear, no cm accumulation, winds southwest 10 km/h, temperatures -10 to -15 C at 1500 m.
Friday
Cloudy with sunny periods, trace accumulation, winds southwest 15 km/h, temperatures -10 to -15 at 1500 m.
Saturday
Mostly sunny, no accumulation, winds northeast 15 km/h, temperatures -10 C at 1000 m and -5 C at 2000 m due to a temperature inversion.
Sunday
Sunny, no accumulation, winds northeast 15 to 20 km/h, temperatures -10 C at 1000 m and 0 to -5 C at 2000 m due to a temperature inversion.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
