In some areas over two feet of new snow has fallen in the past several days. Soft slabs up to two feet in depth and loose snow sluffs are likely to be triggered by humans in steep avalanche prone terrain, especially at the higher elevations. These loose snow sluffs and soft slab avalanches are especially dangerous in cliffs areas and above terrain traps. Expert route selection skills and conservative terrain choices are important today. Normal caution is advised at the lower elevations.
At the mid and upper elevations soft slab avalanches could be human triggered on a variety of aspects. These slabs are expected to be up two feet deep and sensitive to ski cuts.
Loose snow sluffs could be human triggered or release naturally in steep terrain at all elevations. These sluffs could entrain significant volumes of loose snow and run long distances on steep sustained slopes.
Skies will remain mostly cloudy with periods of light snowfall and snow showers. Temperatures will be cooler and remain in the single digits and teens. Winds will be west to northwest and gradually increase from 10 to 20 miles per hour.Slowly increasing winds will begin to transport available snow along the highest ridge crests. Soft surface slabs and loose snow sluffs will continue to be sensitive to human triggers in steep terrain. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be CONSIDERABLE at the upper elevations in areas that have received the most new snow and MODERATE in areas that did not receive as much snow and at the mid and lower elevations. Deep persistent slabs are still a potential hazard in isolated areas.
