Northwest Inland

New snow, strong winds, and rapid warming are a classic recipe for avalanche activity. Conservative terrain choices are essential for safe backcountry riding.

Fair - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain

Forecast models disagree on the amount of precipitation the region will get, but precipitation is coming.  Upper elevations may receive 15  to 20 cm of snow along with strong South winds. Freezing level will hover around 1500m for Thursday but  Friday will see the freezing level rise to almost 2000m, then drop on Saturday on its way to valley bottom on Sunday.  For more information see:https://avalanche.ca/weather

No reports of avalanche activity from yesterday, but that is probably because of poor weather and lack of observations. 

Incoming precipitation will add load to the already reactive wind slabs in exposed lee terrain at treeline and in the alpine. Snow and winds from earlier in the week have added size and destructive potential to the developing wind slab problem. There are a variety of interfaces including old wind slabs, hard crusts, surface hoar, and/or surface facets buried below the recent storm snow. At the base of the snowpack, weak facets may be found and could possibly be triggered with a big enough load such as a cornice failure. Cornices are now getting to be large and potentially unstable. Solar aspects are also a concern, especially in the afternoon.