Wind slabs up to 18 inches deep lie upon hard melt-freeze crusts, sun crusts, and in some areas wind packed snow. Backcountry travelers venturing into steep avalanche terrain could trigger these slides on a variety of aspects.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )After a chance for some lingering scattered snow showers this evening, dry conditions and decreasing cloud cover will set in after midnight as high pressure temporarily builds over the area. Overnight lows in the mountains will be near zero before rising into the mid teens during the day. Northwesterly ridgetop winds will remain light at 5 to 15 miles per hour.Above 7,500 feet, the General Avalanche Hazard is expected to be MODERATE on Monday. In steep, wind loaded avalanche terrain, backcountry travelers could trigger pockets of wind slab 6 to 18 inches in depth. These slabs could fail either on density breaks within the storm snow or possibly down to the mid March hard snow surfaces. On sunlit aspects, extended periods of clear skies in the afternoon could increase the likelihood of triggering these slides and bring about the possible of loose snow sluffing.
