Fresh wind slabs will develop with the new snow and wind.
It is still possible for small avalanches to step down to weak layers deep in the snowpack and produce large destructive avalanches.
Surface hoar and facets buried in the upper snowpack have produced recent avalanche activity. Large loads or step-down avalanches may initiate avalanches on the February layer buried deeper in the snowpack.
Expect deeper and more reactive deposits on north-facing slopes. Storm slab avalanches may step down to weak layers deeper in the snowpack and create very large avalanches.
On Friday, there were reports of numerous persistent slab and storm slab avalanches up to size 3. These avalanches were primarily occurring on northern aspects.
20-50 cm of recent snow has accumulated over previously wind-affected surfaces and crusts on steep south-facing terrain.
Three layers of concern currently exist in the upper-mid snowpack. Surface hoar that formed in mid-March can be found 65 to 85 cm below the snow surface. Below this, another layer of surface hoar that formed in early March can be found at a depth of 90 to 125 cm. Additionally, a layer of facets, surface hoar, and/or a crust from mid-February is buried 80 to 180 cm deep.
The remainder of the snowpack is well consolidated, and there are no current concerns.
Saturday Night
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 30 to 50 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
Sunday
Cloudy with up to 5 cm of snow. 20 to 30 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
Monday
Cloudy. 30 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C as freezing levels rise to 1500 m.
Tuesday
Cloudy. 20 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C, freezing levels rise to 1600 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
