Loose Wet
- Alpin
- Limite forestière
- Sous la limite forestière
- Probabilité
- Possible
- Taille
- 1
Air temperature inversion conditions had air temperatures above 7,000' at or above freezing last night for most locations. Despite the above freezing air temperatures, a decent snow surface refreeze is expected to have occurred last night from radiational cooling under clear skies. Expect a better snow surface refreeze to have occurred on open slopes and a comparatively weaker refreeze to have occurred under forest canopy. The supportable snow surface could melt away quickly today with warmer air at the mid and upper elevations this morning and maximum daytime air temperatures forecast in the 50s and 60s. Once the supportable surface has melted away, feet of residual wet snow deeper in the snowpack that did not refreeze last night will become exposed. Once last night's snow surface refreeze has melted away, loose wet avalanches are possible.
Areas of loose wet avalanche problems will form first on E-SE-S-SW-W aspects at all elevations. Wet snow instability will eventually spread to NW-N-NE aspects as the day progresses and to a lesser extent on the highest elevation N aspects. Avalanche size up to D2 is possible (large enough to bury or injure a person). Monitor snow surface supportability. When last night's snow surface refreeze melts away and conditions become marginally unsupportable to unsupportable, avoid travel in or below avalanche terrain.