Loose Wet
- Alta quota
- Limite del bosco
- Sotto il limite del bosco
- Probabilità
- Possible
- Dimensione
- 2
Another cloudy night with mostly above freezing temperatures means that most areas did not refreeze last night, and any areas where temperatures did dip below freezing will have only experienced a weak refreeze. Another day of temperatures in the 40's above 8000 ft. and low 50's above 7000 ft. combined with some sunshine will allow the wet snow to persist on all aspects and at all elevations. In areas that did receive new snow during the last round of precipitation, the new snow will also become wet and lose its cohesion as it warms up again today. Loose wet avalanches will remain possible today on slopes steeper than 35 degrees. Most of the loose wet avalanches should remain small but some of them could entrain enough snow to pose a threat to backcountry travelers especially in areas where new snow exists or where deep wet snow exists. Even though loose wet avalanches will represent the main avalanche problem today, other unlikely wet snow instabilities like wet slabs or glide avalanches are not impossible.
Since little to no refreeze occurred last night, deep wet snow that may not support a person will already exist on many slopes this morning. Stepping off your equipment and sinking into wet snow above your boot tops and small surface instabilities like roller balls, pinwheels, or point releases can provide clues that enough wet snow has formed for larger loose wet avalanches to become an issue. Terrain traps like gullies, creeks, and cliffs can greatly increase the risk of any size loose wet avalanches.