Be careful in steep alpine terrain where wind slab avalanches could be triggered.
Wind slabs may be lingering in alpine terrain and along ridgetops. Fresh slabs could form this week if the wind picks up.
On Tuesday, our field team observed a few large (size 2) natural wind slabs avalanches in north and east facing alpine gullies. These likely occurred during the last weekend's storm.
Observations from Wednesday suggest 30 to 40 cm of low density snow can still be found in wind sheltered terrain, while exposed alpine terrain has been impacted by southerly winds. Recent snow is well bonded to underlying layers, with the possible exception of steep wind-loaded slopes. Snow depths at White Pass are around 100 cm in sheltered areas and closer to 200 cm on wind-loaded slopes.
Wednesday night
Partly cloudy with some isolated flurries bringing trace amounts of snow, 30 km/h wind from the southeast, treeline temperatures drop to -10 °C.
Thursday
Mix of sun and cloud, no precipitation, 20 km/h wind from the southeast, treeline temperatures around -10 °C.
FridayCloudy with light flurries bringing trace amounts of snow in the afternoon, 30 to 40 km/h wind from the southeast, treeline temperatures around -8 °C.
SaturdayCloudy with periods of snow bringing 5 to 10 cm of snow, 50 to 70 km/h wind from the south, treeline temperatures around -5 °C.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
