New snow sits over a layer of surface hoar on a crust, building small but touchy storm slabs.
Assess for signs of instability like avalanches, cracking, or whumpfs as you move through terrain.
A weak layer of surface hoar is underneath the new snow. Storm slabs could be easy to trigger in areas with 20 cm or more on this layer.
Several human triggered size 1 storm slabs over the layer of surface hoar and crust from mid-January were reported just east of this region on Thursday. Some remote triggered size 1 avalanches were reported where surface hoar is buried 20 cm or more.
As more snow builds up over the surface hoar layer, avalanche activity will increase in size and reactivity.
15 to 25 cm of snow sits over a surface hoar and crust layer. This new snow will be accompanied by southwest winds, meaning that the crust will likely remain on the surface on southerly aspects while deeper deposits will be found on north and east aspects. The surface hoar is largest in sheltered treeline and below treeline features.
The mid and lower snowpack is well settled.
Check out this MIN from the Big White area for more details.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1-3 cm of snow at treeline. 40 km/h west ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy. 1 cm of snow. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.
Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 mm of rain at treeline, with 4 to 6 cm of snow possible above 1800 m. 40 km/h south ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.
Monday
Mix of sun and clouds. 5 to 10 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing levels 1300 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
