The general avalanche hazard is moderate above an elevation of 8,500 feet and low below that elevation. Slab avalanches could be human triggered on steep terrain features. Increasing temperatures and sunshine may cause wet, loose snow slides to release naturally on steep sunlit slopes and increase the sensitivity of wind slabs to human triggers. Even small avalanches can become a significant hazard in cliff areas, steep chutes and in terrain traps. Evaluate terrain carefully and monitor conditions for an increasing hazard during the warmest portion of the day. Deep persistent slab avalanches are unlikely except in isolated terrain features and would require a large trigger to hit either a thin spot in a large filled in avalanche path or an area where the snowpack itself is both shallow and underlain by weak snow.
Slabs formed by strong winds and snowfall during the past week can be triggered in steep terrain above an elevation of 8,500 feet and on isolated terrain features below that elevation. These slabs could be up to three feet deep. Be wary of areas with recent deposits of wind drifted snow and terrain traps.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )Another period of steady light snowfall will occur tonight. This weak system will bring a couple inches of light density snow to the mountains. Cloud cover will decrease during the day with mostly clear skies likely by evening. Temperature will be in the single digits and teens tonight and rise into the 20's on Thursday. Winds will be from the northwest at 10 to 20 miles per hour with higher gusts and will back from the northwest to the southwest.At the higher elevations, were the hazard is moderate, soft slab avalanches could be human triggered on very steep terrain features. These slabs could be 1 to 3 feet deep and could be dangerous in steep chutes, cliff areas and above terrain traps. Small pockets of soft slab could be human triggered on isolated terrain features below an elevation of 9,000 feet where the general avalanche hazard is expected to be low. These small pockets could be 1 to 2 feet deep. Warming temperatures and afternoon sunshine may increase the sensitivity of these soft slabs to human triggers and may cause loose snow slides to release naturally on steep sunlit slopes.
