Hello and good morning, this is Toby Weed
of the
Current
Conditions: Just a few inches fell yesterday and overnight
in the
Avalanche Conditions:
It
was an active day in the
Yesterday’s
light snow fell with little or no wind and it now may be nicely preserving weak
layers that formed on or near the snow surface during the recent high pressure.
The soft, shallow, re-crystallized
“powder” on sheltered north facing slopes at all elevations is what we call near surface faceted snow and it has a reputation
for becoming a persistent weak layer once buried. Some slopes also sport frost crystals or
surface hoar, and on many it’s capping wind or warmth crusts (snow photos).
Today the fresh snow will probably begin to stick
to most of the crusty old snow surfaces, but even small new snow avalanches could
pick up steam and run far and fast on a big slope.
You
should watch the winds and the affects of drifting closely. A significant increase in wind speed or a change
in direction could mean a rising danger of wind slab avalanches. These could run far on slick underlying
crusts. It’s not a good night to camp in
avalanche terrain as the danger will likely rise significantly overnight with strong
wind and heavy snowfall in the forecast.
Bottom Line: This morning
you’ll find a LOW danger in the backcountry and avalanches are generally
unlikely. Surface sluffs and shallow
soft wind slabs are possible however, and the danger is MODERATE on
a few steep upper elevation slopes with the most new snow accumulation. Use good snow assessment and safe travel techniques
to minimize your risk.
Strong
winds and heavy snowfall overnight and tomorrow will cause the danger to rise significantly….Expect at least a CONSIDERABLE danger by tomorrow morning if the weather
forecast verifies, with some natural avalanches possible.
Mountain
Weather: The National Weather Service issued a Winter
Storm Watch for the region for late tonight through Monday morning. Strong
southwest winds will develop late tonight and continue into Sunday along with
periods of heavy snow. The mountains
around
Upcoming avalanche class: February
29th-March 1st, Avalanche Basics,
Check out the images page for photos of some of
this season’s avalanches.
Go to the Avalanche Encyclopedia if you have any questions about terms I use in the advisory.
I'm very interested to
know what you're seeing out there. Please e-mail observations to me
at [email protected] or leave me a message at 755-3638, especially if you see or
trigger an avalanche in the backcountry. We keep all observations confidential.
This
advisory will expire in 24 hours from the posting time.
The information in this
advisory is from the U.S. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its
content. This advisory describes general avalanche conditions and local
variations always occur.