The storm has eased, but now is not the time to let your guard down. Evaluate the snowpack carefully and make conservative terrain choices.
Wind slabs have likely developed near ridge tops and where new snow has been transported and deposited onto leeward terrain features.
In areas that terrain has been protected from the wind, we suspect that the storm slab may have buried surface hoar.
At the time of publishing this forecast, no new avalanches have been observed or reported.
A natural avalanche cycle is expected to have occurred during Saturdays storm.
If you are going out in the backcountry, please consider sharing your observations to the Mountain Information Network (MIN).
Snowfall amounts in excess of 50 cm have reached the threshold for critical loading. This combined with warming temperatures have potentially transformed the upper snowpack into a dense slab that overlies a firm crust at treeline. North through east-facing slopes in the alpine that are protected from the wind are likely have buried surface hoar which sits over moist snow. It is expected that the strong southwesterly wind has stripped snow accumulation from exposed alpine features, transporting it to North aspect terrain. Continued developed of deep wind slabs are possible due to the ongoing wind and available snow.
Snow depths at treeline are estimated to vary across the region from 65 cm to 200 cm.
Saturday Night
Snow 10 to 25 cm. 30 to 80 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
Sunday
Snow at higher elevations and rain 5 to 10 mm. 20 to 30 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1200 m.
Monday
Snow 1 to 2 cm. 15 to 1 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0°C. Freezing level 1200 m.
Tuesday
Afternoon clearing. 20 to 40 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature +1 °C. Freezing level 1400 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
