Northwest Coastal

Strong northeast winds will continue to build wind slabs on Sunday. Use added caution and choose conservative routes, particularly where wind effect is observed.

High -

SATURDAY NIGHT: Clear skies, moderate to strong northeast wind.SUNDAY: Clear skies, strong to extreme northeast winds, alpine temperature -24 C.MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud, moderate northeast wind, alpine temperature -14 C.TUESDAY: Mix of sun and clouds, light to moderate northwest wind, alpine temperature -6 C.

Wind slabs were reactive to skier traffic on Saturday, generally producing small avalanches. See here for an example. The likelihood of finding them and the potential size may increase as the strong winds continue.

Strong northeast winds will redistribute the 40 cm of recent storm snow, creating wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded terrain features. This snow overlies wind-affected surfaces in the high alpine and a thick melt-freeze crust at and below treeline.In the south of the region, the remainder of the snowpack is 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.