South Coast Inland

A spotty surface hoar layer may exist, so investigate how the recent snow is bonding to underlying layers.

It seems to be a problem where the wind has formed a slab above it.

• Watch for newly formed and reactive wind slabs as you transition into wind-affected terrain.
• Use small, low consequence slopes to test the bond of the new snow.

Moderate

• Uncertainty is due to the limited number of field observations.

Several small (size 1) human-triggered storm slabs have been triggered in the top 20 to 30 cm over the past few days, potentially failing on recently buried crust and surface hoar layers.

20 to 30 cm of recent snow has been redistributed by strong south and west wind.

This sits on a variable layer including: a breakable crust on south-facing aspects, wind-affected snow on north-facing terrain, and spotty surface hoar in sheltered features.

The mid-December crust is 90 to 150 cm deep, except on wind-scoured alpine features, where it could be on the surface. This crust is well-bonded to the snow above. Above 2200 m, this crust is absent, and a layer of facets and a crust from November is found at the base of the snowpack. These layers are not currently a concern.

Thursday Night
Mostly cloudy. 1 to 2 cm of snow. 30 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -7 °C.

Friday
Cloudy. 1 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -5 °C.

Saturday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -2 °C.

Sunday
Mix of sun and clouds. 2 to 5 cm of snow. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature -1 °C.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.