Northwest Coastal

Recent new snow in the south of the region will require a few days to settle and stabilize. Look for the sky to clear and the temperature to drop significantly this weekend as cold air invades from the north.

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

FRIDAY Night: Cloudy with isolated flurries, light to moderate east wind, alpine temperature -20 C.SATURDAY: Mainly sunny, light to moderate east wind, alpine temperature -25 C.SUNDAY: Mainly sunny, strong northeast winds, alpine temperature -25 C.MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate northeast wind, alpine temperature -20 C.

On Thursday, a size 2 loose wet avalanche was observed in steep rocky terrain. On Wednesday, a few small pockets were reactive to skier traffic, with slabs up to 15 cm deep.

20-30 cm of snow fell in the south of the region Thursday evening into Friday. In the high alpine this new snow sits on a wind-affected surface, such as scoured snow on windward slopes and thicker snow deposits in lee terrain features. Below around 1600 m the snow fell on a thick melt-freeze crust . In the south of the region, the remainder of the snowpack is generally well-settled.Around Bear Pass and in the north of the region, there is a weak layer of feathery surface hoar crystals about 50 cm deep. This weak layer is likely most prominent in sheltered and shaded areas. Also in the north, a few weak layers may still exist within the middle and lower half of the snowpack. These include another layer of surface hoar around 70 to 100 cm deep and a weak layer of sugary faceted snow around 200 cm deep.