Northwest Coastal

Local snowfall amounts and winds will drive the avalanche danger. These will be variable across the region. The posted ratings may be a bit high for some areas.

Poor - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather is uncertain for the entire period

Friday: Strong to extreme SW winds. Alpine temperature near -6. 15-30 cm snow overnight Thursday, and 10-25 cm on Friday.Saturday: Moderate SW winds. Alpine temperature near -6. 5 cm snow.Sunday: Moderate SW winds. Alpine temperature near -9. 5-10 cm snow.

Surface sluffs were failing naturally and with skier traffic in steep terrain on Wednesday.

Variable amounts of new snow are building up over a medley of surfaces including hard and soft wind slabs, scoured slopes, blue ice, thin melt-freeze crusts and surface hoar. Winds are likely to shift snow into slabs in the lee of terrain breaks such as ridges and ribs. Two persistent weaknesses (comprising surface hoar and facets) buried in the upper snowpack give moderate to hard, sudden results in snowpack tests. The mid and lower snowpack is generally well settled and strong, although basal facets remain a concern in the north of the region.