Wind Slabs
- Alpin
- Limite forestière
- Sous la limite forestière
- Probabilité
- Unlikely
- Taille
- 1
What and where is it:Watch out for small wind slabs that could form later this afternoon and tonight. The most likely place to find a new wind slab is on steep easterly aspects late in the day where the terrain provides shelter from the wind.
How can you recognize it: Pay attention to new snowfall that is accumulating more than a couple of inches, plumes of snow blowing from ridgelines, and deeper drifts of softer new snow. New wind slabs will appear soft, white, and smooth in contrast to the gray, hard, and icy old snow surface.How can you manage it:Understand that new wind slabs may struggle to stick to the icy old snow surface. Approach these areas with caution and understand that even a small avalanche could cause a devastating fall in steep terrain today with a widespread icy snow surface.