Recent snow fell on weak surfaces that resulted in a number of significant slides on the weak layer and within the new snow. Avalanches may be more difficult to trigger today but consequences remain severe. Recent tracks can not be trusted to indicate a slope is safe. Extended periods of sunshine will increase the ease of releasing slides on sunlit slopes.
The potential for large, destructive avalanches continues. Persistent hard slabs rest on weak January drought surfaces and could be triggered to depths of two to five feet. A slope could be crossed multiple times before a skier or rider hits a trigger point. Periods of sunshine on slopes will increase the chance of releasing slides.
The chance for backcountry travelers to trigger wet-loose sloughs and shallow soft slabs will increase on steep, sunlit aspects with periods of sunshine.
A series of short-wave troughs will bring periods of light snow. Accumulations are expected to be two inches or less at mid and upper elevations. Mountain temperatures will be in the upper teens Tuesday morning then warm into the upper 20s. Winds at ridge top level will be west to southwesterly at 15 to 20 miles per hour.Persistent deep slabs from last week's storm rest on weak, poorly bonded snow from the January drought on avalanche terrain. The nature of these slabs make them very difficult to predict and the danger will continue. Multiple snow machine tracks, more than one person at a time on a slope or a skier cutting an area of shallower, weaker snow may trigger these dangerous hard slabs two to four feet in depth. The general avalanche hazard will be MODERATE.
