Watch for newly developed wind slabs that may be still reactive to human triggers. Be particularly careful around wind-loaded ridgelines and cross-loaded features mid slope.
Wind slabs from new snow and strong southwest winds have developed and may be still reactive to human triggers. Take care around wind-loaded ridgelines and cross-loaded features mid slope.
An upper ridge will build along the BC coast overnight into Tuesday morning bringing generally dry conditions.
MONDAY NIGHT: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, trace of precipitation, 30-50 km/h southwesterly winds becoming northwesterly, low alpine temperature -2 C with freezing level around 1500 m.
TUESDAY: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries, trace of precipitation, 20-30 km/h northwesterly winds, high alpine temperature -3 C with freezing level around 1300 m.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with isolated flurries, accumulation 1-3 cm, 20-40 km/h southwesterly winds, high alpine temperature -5 C with freezing level around 700 m.
THURSDAY: Flurries, accumulation 5-10 cm, 50-70 km/h southwesterly winds, high alpine temperature -3 C with freezing level going up to 1500 m.
No new avalanche activity have been reported over the weekend.
Mixed precipitation and warm temperatures over the last week have created a variety of surface snow conditions. Recent snowfalls with moderate to strong southwest winds have created pockets of dry snow at alpine elevations. Precipitation fell as wet snow or rain below 2000m, creating saturated upper snowpack that has now formed a melt freeze crust with moist snow below.
Two buried weak layers of sugary, faceted grains sit in the middle and lower snowpack, around 50cm deep and 80-200 cm deep. Early Decembers heavy rain and following cold spell formed the deeper layer of facets, that is now most prominent between 1700 and 2100 m. With cooler temperatures, the probability of triggering an avalanche on this layer is low but will increase when freezing levels rise up again. The most likely place to trigger it would be in thin, rocky snowpack areas.
The lower snowpack is well-settled and strong.
