Northwest Inland

During recent storms freezing levels have varied significantly throughout the region. Pay close attention to conditions that change with elevation, aspect and geographic location.

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

A ridge of high pressure will develop and bring mainly clear skies for the forecast period. Sunday: Light snowfall in the morning and then clearing throughout the day / Moderate to strong northwest winds / Freezing level at about 1200m Monday: Mix of sun and cloud / Moderate northwest winds / Freezing level at 1200m Tuesday: Mix of sun and cloud / Light northwest winds / Freezing level at 2500m

Loose wet and wet slab avalanche activity to size 2.5 was observed in the last few days. If warm temperatures persist, there is ongoing potential for this type of activity to continue. Wind slabs to size 2 were also observed at higher elevations.

In the south of the region, warming and subsequent refreezing may have created a hard melt-freeze crust which extends up to about 1800m. At higher elevations dense wind slabs are reported to exist. Where it exists, this melt-freeze crust should add considerable strength to the snowpack, although daytime warming will weaken this crust allowing for surface avalanches to fail more easily. About 20 to 40cm below the surface you may find weak surface hoar which was buried on February 10th. It is unclear if recent warming has destroyed this potentially weak layer. I'd dig down and test for this layer, especially at upper elevations where colder temperatures may have allowed for this weakness to persist. Further north in the region, the freezing level is reported to have hovered around 1300m during recent storms. In these areas, wind and storm slabs are a concern and deeper persistent weaknesses are more likely to exist.