Strong winds are redistributing available snow into fresh wind slabs at upper elevations
Minimize exposure to avalanche terrain and overhead hazards during periods of heavy wind loading
Moderate gusting strong west winds are building fresh wind slabs on lee slopes at upper elevations. Wind slabs are most sensitive to triggering when they are newly formed.
On Tuesday, a few natural size 1.5 wind slab avalanches were reported on southeast alpine slopes. See MIN for details!
Neighboring regions to the south observed two natural size 1.5 wind slab avalanches on an east aspect.
If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a MIN report!
Strong west winds are forming new wind slabs on lee slopes at upper elevations. New wind slabs sit atop variable wind-affected surfaces. On solar aspects, a thin melt-freeze crust covers the snow surface.
At lower elevations, the upper snowpack contains a melt-freeze crust and facets layer, particularly in south-facing terrain.
The mid and lower snowpack is generally well-settled and stable.
Snowpack depth varies significantly across the region, from 50 to over 150 cm.
Tuesday Night
Cloudy with light flurries, 1 cm. 30 to 50 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -4 °C.
Wednesday
Mainly cloudy. 20 to 30 km/h northwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -8 °C.
Thursday
A mix of sun and cloud. 15 to 25 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
Friday
Mainly cloudy with light flurries, 1 cm. 30 to 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -6 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
