Significant warming is just beginning. Loose wet avalanche activity and pockets of reactive wind slab are possible anywhere snow is being warmed for the first time.
Pocket of wind slab may exist in the alpine. They may become more reactive with rising temperatures, especially where they sit above a crust/ facet interface 15 to 30 cm below.
Freezing levels will continue to rise, reaching as high as 2300 m by Wednesday afternoon.
Loose wet snow can slide far and fast on a solid crust. Watch for softening of the surface around rocks and on sunny slopes in the alpine.
No new avalanches have been reported in the past week.
There are few observations from this region. If you are getting out, please share observations like weather and riding conditions to the Mountain Information Network.
Rising freezing levels will promote moist or wet snow surfaces on most aspects. You may be able to find small wind affected pockets of dry snow on north aspects in the alpine.
At treeline and below, a prominent crust buried late January sits 15 to 30 cm beneath the moist surface snow.
The mid-December facet/crust layer is buried approximately 80 cm deep.
The average snowpack depth at treeline is 90 to 140 cm.
Tuesday Night
Cloudy. 1 mm of precipitation as snow or rain at treeline. 100 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 1 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.
Wednesday
Sunny. 110 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 2600 m.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 1 mm of rain at treeline. 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2100 m.
Friday
Mostly sunny. 70 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 2500 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
