Wind slabs at upper elevations may remain sensitive to human triggering, especially in steep unsupported features. It is definitively early season and all the usual suspects are in play: thick alders, open creeks and a thin snowpack. Have fun, but take it easy!
Watch for freshly formed wind slabs in the alpine. These slabs may be poorly bonded to underlying crust and surface hoar layers, although the distribution of these layers is uncertain.
The sun is expected to make a few appearances through the forecast period, but no snow expected anytime soon.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, light to moderate west/southwest wind, freezing level around 1000 m, no precipitation expected.
MONDAY: Clear skies at dawn with increasing cloud cover building in after lunch, moderate southwest wind, freezing level rising to about 1000 m, no significant precipitation expected.
TUESDAY: Scattered cloud cover, freezing level around valley bottom, light southwest wind, no precipitation expected.
WEDNESDAY: Clear skies, freezing level around valley bottom with potential for an inversion that brings above freezing temperatures to the alpine. Light variable wind, no precipitation expected.
Observations are limited right now, but there have been no reports of recent avalanches.
We appreciate the recent reports submitted to the Mountain Information Network. Keep them coming!
Wind slabs have formed in open terrain as last weeks 10 to 20 cm of snow is redistributed and formed into more cohesive slabs. These slabs may sit above a layer of surface hoar in sheltered terrain and above a hard crust in other areas.
Snowpack depths at upper treeline elevations are nearing 100 cm and beginning to exceed the threshold for avalanches, while the snowpack is much thinner in the valleys.
The lower snowpack consists of crusts. Weak snow may be developing around these crusts in some areas, which will be a snowpack feature to monitor as the season progresses.
