Watch for reactive wind slabs at upper elevations that may propagate surprisingly wide on the slick underlying crust.
Recent snowfall, accompanied by strong southwest winds, has formed wind slabs in exposed terrain. These slabs may remain surprisingly reactive due to an underlying crust.
In the past week, numerous natural and rider-triggered wind slabs up to size 2 have been reported with windy and stormy conditions.
Looking forward to Sunday, we expect that rider-triggered wind slabs will remain possible, especially in north through east aspects in the alpine and treeline.
Up to 20 cm of recent snowfall has been redistributed by strong southwest winds into deeper deposits on north and east-facing slopes.
The 10 to 15 cm thick crust that formed as a result of the recent atmospheric river event is found down 40 to 60 cm. This crust extends up to at least 1500 m in the north and 2000 m in the south. Moist snow is found beneath this crust.
The early February crust is found at depths of 100 to 160 cm. This layer is not currently a concern.
The remainder of the snowpack is generally well settled and bonded.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear skies. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -9 °C.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 2 to 3 cm of snow. 10 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 30 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -10 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 3 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
