Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
Winds that accompanied last night's storm began ESE 14-19mph, then shifted to the NNW and sustained between 19-27mph gusting up to 38mph. Consolidated windblown slabs of snow were thus observed at all elevation bands on SW - SE - NE aspects 5- 7" of new snow fell overnight. This new snow fell on a widespread surface crust that was created from warm temperatures over the last few days
Avalanche
Today, skiers at Snowbowl observed small isolated slabs of windblown snow fracturing and sliding on SW - SE - NE slopes above, near, and below treeline. These slabs were 3" - 8" inches deep and broke from a few feet wide to 30 feet wide. Most of these slabs fractured and arrested within their paths. Few, given the right slope angle slid to the bottom of their path. A skier observed a remote release of a small wind skin while ski cutting. His following ski cut caused a small D1 avalanche to release in the same steep, above treeline terrain on a SW aspect. SS-ASc-D1-I