South Columbia

Fair - Intensity of incoming weather is uncertain

Synopsis: Continued northwesterly flow will bring light pulses of precipitation to the region interspersed with some dry patches.Tuesday night: 2-5 cm new snow.Wednesday: light snow through the day, another 2-5 cm. Treeline temperatures should peak around -2C. Northwesterly winds gusting to 40 km/h.Thursday: Flurries. Freezing level rising to around 1400 m. Light northwesterly winds.Friday: Dry. Temperatures around -6C at treeline. Light northwesterly winds.

On Monday, there were a few, mostly loose snow avalanches on north-facing slopes at higher elevations. There was one small (size 1) human-triggered avalanche reported from 1500 m near valley bottom near a creek. I suspect this is the kind of place surface hoar (most likely the Jan 24th layer, buried 40 cm) would be well preserved. Another small human-triggered avalanche was reported from a north-facing slope in the alpine.

Approximately 30 to 50 cm of recent storm snow overlies a weak layer comprising of surface hoar in shady locations, facets at higher elevations and a sun crust on solar aspects. The recent new snow sitting above this interface has been slowly consolidating from fresh powder into a more cohesive slab. A mid-pack surface hoar layer buried in early January is down around 90 cm, and is best preserved below approximately 1700 m. A freezing rain crust has been reported near the surface (it may now be buried by light snow) in the Monashees, particularly in areas close to Mabel Lake.