Moderate winds from saturday will have created touchy windslabs on lee features at higher elevations.
Persistent Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alta quota
Limite del bosco
Sotto il limite del bosco
Probabilità
Unlikely - Possible
Dimensione
4–7
Two layers to watch: 1. Buried surface hoar, most likely triggered on steep, unsupported slopes amongst the trees. 2. Basal facets, triggerable from thin snowpack areas or by a very heavy load (cornice fall, airborne sled). Avalanches could be large.
Storm Slabs
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Alta quota
Limite del bosco
Sotto il limite del bosco
Probabilità
Possible - Likely
Dimensione
1–5
Storm slabs have evolved; particularly on the west side of the range with warmer new snow over top of loose dry snow. Watch for storm slab avalanches, especially in steep or convex terrain.
Confidence
Fair - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain on Tuesday
Weather Forecast
Monday: 5cm of snow / moderate southwest winds / freezing level at surfaceTuesday: moderate snowfall tuesday evening/ moderate to strong southwest winds / freezing level at 1300mWednesday: continued snowfall through early morning / winds becoming light and westerly / freezing level dropping
Avalanche Summary
Explosive-controlled wind slabs to size 1.5-2 were observed in the region in the past 24hrs.
Snowpack Summary
New storm snow from friday night/saturday morning has built up over wind slabs in exposed features and over loose dry snow in sheltered areas. New snow amounts from friday's pulse were highly variable throughout the region. Lesser 24hr snowfall amounts were at about 6-10cm on the east side, and up to 25cm on the west side. Anomalous southeast moderate winds were observed around Golden, so expect irregular loading patterns at ridge top in that area. The mid-December surface hoar/facet persistent weakness, now down around 55cm on the eastern side of the range and as deep as 190cm on the western side, is still causing operators concern, especially in shallow snowpack areas. Recent snowpack tests show moderate to hard, sudden planar results on this layer. The consequences of a failure on this layer would be large. Facets and depth hoar exist at the base of the snowpack. Cornices are large and weak in some areas.