Warm temps & rising freezing levels will increase the likelihood human triggered activity.
Beware of early season hazards at tree-line & below.
Heavy snowfall and strong-extreme SW winds on Thursday have built slabs at high elevations. These are now buried by lower density snow, and may be harder to identify.
Warm temps will cause the surface of the snow to moisten, especially if the sun pops out. This will likely only be a problem on steep south facing slopes at treeline.
No new avalanches observed over the weekend.
Late last week an avalanche cycle triggered by wind and rain peaked on Thursday night. Several avalanches up to size 3.0 were observed in the highway corridor, some running well into the bare ground on lower elevation fans.
Last week's storm brought approximately 45cm of new snow to the Alpine. Below 2200m this precip fell as rain and saturated the snowpack. The storm also brought strong-extreme Southwest winds which redistributed snow in the Alpine. There may be a lingering layer of buried surface hoar in the alpine. This could be up to 80cm deep.
Warm temperatures and high freezing levels are the dominant factor in the weather
Tonight: Cloudy with wet flurries, Alpine temperature: Low 0°C , Wind: West 15km/hr, Freezing Level: 2200m
Mon: Mainly cloudy. Temp: High +1 . FZL 2300m. Light South wind.
Tues: Flurries, 8cms. Low -4 °C, High -1 °C. FZL 2000m. Light Southwest wind.
Weds: Cloudy with flurries. Alpine Low -7°C & High -2°C. FZL 1600m. Wind: SW 20km/hr.
