Reported Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 6:25 AM

	Weather Forecast Today: Increasing clouds this afternoon with light southwest winds becoming gusty this afternoon up high. High temperatures will be in the 40's again. Tonight: Light snow T-3" possible. Southwest winds 5-15 mph and lows in the 20's. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy with light snow and the chance for rain in Gunnison. Southwest winds gusting to 25 mph and highs in the upper 30's. Weather Outlook The next wave of moisture is headed our way on a southwesterly flow. This one will be much smaller than the last, with little support from the jet stream and most of the limited moisture staying to our north. We will see clouds roll in this afternoon, with snow showers over the mountains tonight and the chance for rain again in Gunnison. Another system moves inland for the weekend, but the timing is a bit shakey right now.

The danger today will be MODERATE near and above treeline, and generally LOW below treeline.

LIKELIHOOD OF TRIGGERING

AVALANCHE SIZE

Trend

While the snowpack is mostly stable this morning, strong solar radiation and warm temperatures today will cause a loss of strength this afternoon. Wet loose avalanches may gain force and size as they roll downhill and could become quite powerful.

Last night's colder temperatures helped to lock up the snowpack. This will help stave off the threat of wet avalanches a little longer today. Many natural avalanches were observed yesterday, most being smaller, shallow slabs releasing from steep terrain on leeward slopes above treeline. These most likely ran during or shortly after the storm on Monday. Lots of loose wet avalanches occured below treeline as well. We can expect the snowpack today to be mostly stable until the sun and warm temperatures begin to heat things up. Watch for sunny slopes and steep areas below treeline as they warm up early this afternoon.