New Snow

Increasing Danger

Moderately dense new snow falling extremely rapidly on poorly structured, heavily faceted snowpack with a pre-existing weak layer or two is an obvious red flag. Additional snow forecast to occur during the next 24-48 hours means that the snow we received today may not have time to sufficiently bond with underlying layers. Weak layers which were previously identified by UAC and other observers in the area may begin to fail with added weight of new snow and/or with additional triggers (like a skier or snowmobile).

Persistent Weak Layer

Increasing Danger

Wind-loading was occurring on multiple aspects, including south, southeast and east facing terrain. Roughly foot deep pockets of soft slab due to wind-loading were evident, at high and mid-elevations. Gullies and the edges of canyons appeared to be getting a lot of wind loading as ridges were being blown off (in some areas I would not be surprised if a net loss in snow pack depth occurred following the winds in the afternoon). Wind slabs likely will be a problem for the short term, at least.