Yesterdays cold front brought nine inches of dense snow to the mountains. Temperatures are in the teens and 20s after being mostly above freezing for a week. This new snow fell upon warm old snow surfaces. Areas of isothermal snow may persist and should not be trusted especially steep upper elevation avalanche paths with deeply buried layers of faceted snow. Evaluate terrain and conditions carefully and avoid steep terrain above an elevation of 9,000 feet where weak layers formed early in the season, may persist.
Some potential remains for humans to trigger deep wet slab avalanches in very steep upper elevation avalanche paths. These slabs could fail on buried layers of faceted snow and could step down to the ground.
( Discussion is generated from the previous day's afternoon forecast. )The low pressure center is forecast to split and draw cooler air into our area. Skies will continue to be cloudy with decreasing chances for snowfall. Several additional inches of accumulation are possible in the high country overnight. Snow showers are possible in the mountains on Friday. Temperatures will be in the upper teens and 20s overnight and rise into the 30s during the day. Winds will be northwesterly at 10 to 20 miles per hour.The general avalanche hazard is expected to be LOW. At the upper elevation isolated pockets of shallow wind slab could pose a hazard in extreme terrain. These small pockets and lose snow sluffs could flush a person down a very steep couloir. Areas of isothermal snow persist and should not be trusted especially in cliff areas. Normal caution is advised.
