Up to a foot of new snow has fallen since yesterday and more snow and wind are expected today. This new snow lies upon good sliding surfaces, crusts and hard snow surfaces that formed during last week's warm spell. Humans who venture into steep avalanche prone slopes could trigger loose snow and wind slab avalanches. These slides could be large enough to injure or kill a person. Travel safely in the backcountry and avoid unnecessary risks during the COVID-19 crisis.
Soft slab avalanches could be triggered on steep avalanche prone slopes. Those slabs could be up to two feet deep and may run long distances on slick old snow surfaces. Today's new snow and winds may increase the sensitivity of these slabs to human triggers
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )The heavier snowfall will shift into the southern portion of our forecast region while light to moderate snow showers continue over the western and northern areas. Additional accumulations of 3 to 6 inches are possible in the western and northern areas. Six to 12 inches are possible in the southern areas by Thursday evening. Temperatures will be in the teens tonight and rise into the 20’s during the day. Northerly winds are forecast to be light at 5 to 15 miles per hour.Humans who venture onto steep slopes could trigger loose snow avalanches. In areas where winds have been strong enough to drift snow, humans could triggered soft slab avalanches. These loose snow and soft slab avalanches could be 6 to 18 inches deep. They could be large enough to fully bury and injure or kill a person in terrain with consequences. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be moderate at the higher elevations. The hazard will be low at the lower elevations. A strong wind event is not in the forecast, however if one was to occur it would increase the avalanche hazard.
