Watch for freshly wind-loaded slopes in the alpine.
Small wind slabs could form later in the day on Friday as snow accumulates, most likely on west-facing alpine slopes. Watch for the bond of this snow to underlying crusts.
A few small loose avalanches were observed on sun-exposed slopes over the past few days. On Monday, a natural, size 2 avalanche was reported in steep, rocky terrain on an east aspect. The avalanche was likely triggered by a cornice failure due to solar radiation.
5 to 15 cm of new snow is expected by Friday evening, with deeper wind deposits possible in the alpine. This snow will bury a sun crust on steep solar slopes.
A melt-freeze crust with facets above sits 50 to 120 cm deep. It has not produced any avalanches in the region, however professionals are still tracking it to watch for signs of it becoming an active problem.
The mid to lower snowpack is considered well bonded at this point. Currently, we are not seeing the same basal weak layers and reactivity that many of the neighboring regions are experiencing this season.
Thursday night
Increasing cloud, no precipitation, 20 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperatures cool to -18 °C.
Friday
Cloudy with scattered flurries, 5 to 10 cm of snow with some areas near the US border getting up to 15 cm, 30 to 50 km/h southeast wind, treeline temperatures around -15 °C.
SaturdayMix of sun and cloud with some isolated flurries bringing trace amounts of snow, 15 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures reach -10 °C.
SundayMix of sun and cloud, 15 to 30 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures reach -5 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
