More likely on the Rockies side of the forecast area. Several wind stations aren't reporting, so the extent of wind transport is uncertain. Watch out for reactive windslabs in leeward terrain features such as ridgecrests and roll-overs.
On Sunday near Fernie, small (up to size 1.5) natural avalanches were reported on steep alpine features.
On Saturday, avalanche control produced several small to large avalanches (up to size 2). The general trend was storm slab avalanches to the west, and wind slab avalanches to the east.
Recent moderate to strong southwest winds have redistributed surface snow into deeper, more reactive pockets in leeward terrain features. In some areas, you may also find a thin, frozen crust near the surface.
40-60 cm of recent snow seems to be bonding well to the wet or frozen surface left behind by recent, heavy rain. A hard melt-freeze crust is forming at this interface, observed up to 5 cm thick in some places.
Beneath the upper crust, the remainder of the rain-moistened snowpack is slowly refreezing as freezing level remains below valley bottom.
Snowpack depths vary across the forecast area. 50 to 120 cm at treeline, tapering rapidly below treeline.
Monday Night
Mostly clear. No new snow expected. Light to moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline high around -5 °C.
Tuesday
Mostly sunny. No new snow expected. Light southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -5 °C, with possible temperature inversion in the alpine.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, possible thin cloud. No new snow expected. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature around -2°C, with possible temperature inversion in the alpine.
Thursday
Mostly cloudy. 0-3 cm of snow expected. Moderate southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature falling to around -7°C by the end of the day.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
