Touchy storm slabs will exist. Stick with a conservative trip plan and watch for signs of instability.
If the sun is out, natural avalanche activity will spike on solar slopes.
Touchy storm slabs are likely on Thursday. Back off if you encounter signs of instability like warming from the sun, whumpfing, shooting cracks or recent avalanches.
On Tuesday, several human-triggered slab avalanches up to size 1.5 were reported from the North Shore mountains.
Storm slabs will likely continue to be reactive at treeline and above on Thursday. Expect natural avalanche activity to spike if the sun comes out.
If you are headed to the backcountry, please consider sharing your photos and observations from your day on the Mountain Information Network. Big shout out and gratitude to the folks who have this week. Thank you!
15 to 20 cm of new snow fell by Wednesday afternoon. This could bring storm snow totals in the alpine to over 100 cm since the weekend. High north-facing slopes may see deeper deposits of wind-transported snow.
At treeline and below, the new snow will sit above a crust on all aspects. This crust has approximately 30 cm of dense, saturated storm snow below.
Check out this great MIN with snowpack observations from the Mount Seymour area.
Wednesday Night
Cloudy with clear periods and isolated flurries. 10 to 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 500 m.
Thursday
Cloudy with some sunny periods and isolated flurries. 15 to 25 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C. Freezing level 700 m.
Friday
Cloudy with sunny periods. 10 to 15 km/h southeast ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -3 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
Saturday
Cloudy with 5 to 10 cm of snow. 15 to 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C. Freezing level 900 m.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
