Good stability has been observed and reported at the interface of the 4/5 storm snow.  Light snowfall today is not expected to be sufficient to increase the avalanche hazard.  Instabilities may still exist in areas where recent winds have stiffened the snow surface creating a cohesive slab.  Other areas of concern would include places where the most recent storm snow lies upon near surface facets (weak snow).  Faceted snow is expected to exist at the new/old interface in isolated locations.  These include areas where the snow surface was unaffected by wind prior to the 4/5 storm snow.  This does not include the majority of areas that are close to the road corridor, although may exist along the fringes and beyond our forecast area.  The aforementioned interface is close enough to the surface that signs of instability will likely be present in areas where unstable snow exists.  These include shooting cracks, collapsing and recent avalanche activity.  Test slopes, hasty hand pits and ECT stability tests should all be helpful tools to assess the bonding and sensitivity of the most recent storm snow.

Older faceted snow exists in our mid snowpack, but is currently unlikely to be affected by human triggers.  Recent benign weather has left us with a snowpack that is under minimal stress.  This situation is likely to change in the future, as the strong April sun is likely to bring warmer temperatures which will have the potential of weakening faceted snow in our mid snowpack.  Use caution in steep terrain where the surface snow is being affected by solar radiation.

Wet loose activity is likely today.  On 4/8 wet loose activity increased slightly, but was still below average for this time of year.  This activity is expected to increase in volume and distribution in the coming days as the temperatures continues to slowly rise and penetrate deeper into the snowpack.  Expect for steep solar aspects to have natural wet loose activity when the sun is out.  East aspects will be the first to be affected moving to south and then finally west.  The amount and duration of cloud cover that we see today will dictate the degree of wet loose activity.

Timing is key in avoidance of this avalanche problem.  Pay attention to the amount of warmth that is being transferred into the snow surface (Is it becoming moist-wet?).  In general, it is recommended to avoid traveling on or being exposed to steep solar aspects, especially during the heat of the day.

Weak snow exists at the base of our snowpack.  This weak snow is currently unlikely to be affected due to the strength of old wind affected snow at the 3/17 new/old interface.  Depth hoar may become a concern later in the season if our area returns to a period of major snowfall and the very strong wind damaged layer at the new/old interface starts to break down and lose strength within the snowpack.  As very hard wind slabs break down within the snowpack a person or machines weight will have a more direct affect on weak layers at the bottom of the snowpack.  In addition,  the increasing intensity of the sun will be putting pressure on deep layers during the heat of the day.

This problem is difficult to assess.  if we do see deep slab avalanches begin to occur in our forecast zone, they will likely first show up on south aspects.  This has not occurred yet, but would be a clear indicator of an increasing potential to see this avalanche problem on other aspects.