The soft snow from a few days ago has been blown into windslabs from Thursday's strong winds. These slabs overlie a newly buried weak layer (Jan 30) of surface hoard and facets that should be monitored closely.
Elevated winds from the west and northwest over the next few days have blown the new light snow around. This has created new windslabs that overlie a weak layer of surface hoard and suncrust buried Jan 30.
The NW flow continues over the region with a pacific system embedded moving over the region starting Thursday night and through Friday. Snowfall ranges are expected between 10-20 cm with the most in westerly areas. Continued strong winds through the storm and temperatures below freezing.
Strong winds have created windslabs in alpine and treeline areas that are reactive to skier triggers. These windslabs sit on the Jan 30 layer of surface hoar and facets and may bond poorly. This problem will build for Friday with additional snowfall and continued strong winds. Shallow snowpack areas remain weak and facetted.
Road patrol of Hwy 93N today showed no new avalanches, but both Sunshine Village and Lake Louise ski areas reported size 1.5 windslabs triggered by skiers within their boundaries.
