At the upper elevations up to eight inches of new snow with about 0.75 inches of water accumulated from 4 AM to 7 PM yesterday. Strong winds accompanied this snowfall and formed pockets of new soft slab. At the mid and lower elevations some potential for wet snow avalanche activity may persist on steep slopes.
Pockets of soft slab up to 16 inches in depth formed by west to west-northwest winds formed in upper elevation avalanche starting zones and cliff areas. These surface slabs could be triggered by humans on very steep slopes with new deposits of wind drifted snow.
Yesterdays rain created unstable areas of wet unconsolidated snow. Clear skies and cooler temperatures overnight have combined to lessen the potential threat from wet snow avalanches. However steep slopes that still have areas of wet loose snow may still have some potential to slide and should be avoided.
Another Pacific shortwave will move overhead late tonight through Sunday bringing cloud cover and periods of moderate to heavy snowfall. Overnight lows in the mountains will be in the low 20s before rising to near 30 during the day. Westerly ridgetop winds will range from 15 to 25 miles per hour.The General Avalanche Hazard is expected to be MODERATE on Sunday. By the afternoon, wind slabs could build to depths of 12 inches. Backcountry travelers could trigger these slides in steep, avalanche prone terrain at the upper elevations. At the lower elevations, periods of rain could bring about the possibility of wet slide activity.
