An overnight low of 40 degrees means a good, solid refreeze in the mountains. A low of 45 means there may be frozen corn in the morning but it will probably get mushy my mid morning. A low of 50 or above means that there was probably no freeze at all in the mountains. Cloud cover also plays a significant role. Clear skies allow the snow to radiate all its heat away and the snow surface can freeze even though the air temperatures are above freezing.
Dry air allows the temperatures to drop much lower overnight than humid air.
Finally, aspect plays a critical role. The east facing slopes catch the sun first and get mushy by early morning, the south facing slopes next, and finally the west facing slopes catch sun last, which usually get mushy by late morning. As usual, you should get out early, get home early and get off of and out from underneath steep slopes when they get wet and mushy. Next, let s talk about dry snow. With each snowstorm, we will have the usual number of soft slab avalanches within the new snow.