Large slab avalanches could be triggered by the weight of a single person on a variety of aspects and elevations. These slabs could fail within the recent storm snow or step down to weak layers of faceted snow. The consequences of getting caught in one of these dangerous slab avalanches are likely to be severe. Conservative terrain choices and excellent route finding skills are essential for safe travel in avalanche terrain.
On steep slopes large to very large soft slab avalanches could be triggered by a person or an animal (wildlife). These dangerous slabs may run long distances and could be two to four feet deep at the mid and upper elevations and one to three feet deep at the lower elevations.
Buried layers of faceted snow exist in the snowpack. Large to very large persistent slab avalanches could fail on these layers with depths from 3 to 5 feet at the higher elevations and 1 to 3 feet at the lower elevations. These dangerous slabs could be triggered by the release of a surface slab, be triggered by the weight of a person or by wildlife.
Light snowfall will develop and become steadier by midnight. Accumulations of 2 to 4 inches in the mountains and 1 to 2 inches are possible before daybreak. Periods of light to moderate snowfall could bring another three inches of new snow to the area during the day. Temperatures will be in the single digits and teens. Winds will be from the southwest to south at 15 with gusts to 25 miles per hour.Humans could trigger large slab avalanches in steep avalanche starting zones and on steep slopes with poor snow structure. These slab avalanches could be two to four feet deep and could occur of a variety of aspects at all elevations. Slope specific stability assessment is difficult in these conditions. The consequences of triggering a large slab avalanche are likely to be severe. Conservative terrain choices are essential for safe travel in avalanche terrain. The general avalanche hazard is expected to be moderate at all elevations. Most recreational avalanche fatalities occur during periods of considerable or moderate avalanche hazard.
