At the mid and upper elevations, skiers and riders could trigger stiff wind slabs. While less likely, larger persistent slabs remain a threat to backcountry travelers. In addition to the possibility of being human triggered, these persistent slabs could also fail from the release of a wind slab. Avalanches are unlikely at the lower elevations except on isolated terrain features.
At the mid and upper elevations and on isolated terrain features at the lower elevations backcountry travelers could trigger stiff, surface slabs that are 6 to 18 inches deep. These slabs are most likely to fail on faceted snow that formed in early December.
Faceted weak layers that formed during the November dry spell exist in the lower portion of the snowpack, and skiers and riders still have the potential of triggering persistent slab avalanches up to three feet deep at the mid and upper elevations. This hazard is more of a concern in terrain with shallower snow depths. Larger triggers, such as snowmobiles, may be more likely to initiate these persistent slabs.
The weak system could bring one to three inches of snow to the mountains before sunrise with west winds of ten to twenty miles per hour. After a brief respite in the morning, the next storm will arrive on the heals of the exiting system. Snowfall is to resume by mid-day and intensify through the afternoon and night. West winds are to be strong with this system, increasing to thirty plus mile per hour averages by sunset with gusts in the fifties or higher. Snowfall during daylight hours should be on the light side with a few inches expected. Mountain temperatures are to range from the teens in the morning to the mid-twenties in the afternoon. The general avalanche hazard is expected to remain Moderate above 7500 feet and low below that elevation. The problem involves two different layers of persistent weak snow. The more recently buried weakness could have depths to one foot while the older layers could release to three feet. New snowfall amounts are expected to be light through most of the day, however if the storm arrives early shallow soft wind slabs will form in steep leeward slopes.
