Precipitation amounts have varied throughout the region with higher amounts focused on the south of the region. Where precipitation has fallen as snow, the avalanche danger is HIGH.
40-80 cm of snow may have accumulated at upper elevations overnight Wednesday then Thursday through Friday morning. Expect deep deposits in lee terrain with extreme southerly winds.
A high freezing level will bring heavy rain at lower elevations and saturate and weaken the surface snow .
No recent avalanches have been reported, however heavy precipitation and extreme winds over the next 48 hours have likely triggered a natural avalanche cycle at upper elevations.
There may be 40-80cm of new snow that has a accumulated through this recent storm at uppermost elevations. It is likely that most areas have seen mostly rain 1700m and below.
There is likely 90-130cm sitting over a thin crust layer above 1000 m. This crust has been highlighted as a critical avalanche layer in recent snowpack tests. Frequent rain has been eroding the already thin snowpack below this elevation.
Snowpack depths at treeline are around 120 cm, tapering quickly with elevation. Although the snowpack in most forested areas below treeline remains below threshold depths for avalanches, many steep bluffs, cutbanks, and alpine features in the upper below treeline band are capable of producing avalanches.
Thursday Night
Heavy precipitation overnight bringing 20-40 cm of new snow to upper-most elevations and rain likely below 1600m . Strong to extreme southerly wind. Treeline high temperatures around 0°C with a freezing level around 1800m.
Friday
Continuing rain at all but highest alpine elevations in the morning then tapering off by midday. Strong south wind. Treeline high temperatures around -1 with freezing level around 1700m.
Saturday
Cloudy with flurries at upper elevations. Moderate south wind. Treeline high temperature around -2 with freezing level around 1500
Sunday
Mostly cloudy with scattered flurries. Moderate southerly wind. Treeline high temperature around -4 with freezing level around 1200m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
