Spring is a dynamic time of year; conditions can vary widely and change rapidly. Localized periods of heavy snowfall may form fresh, reactive storm slabs, while even short periods of strong sun can rapidly destabilize the upper snowpack.
Carefully assess your local conditions and pay attention to how the weather is affecting the snowpack.
In areas where the recent storm snow has not formed a cohesive slab, dry loose avalanches may initiate easily in steep terrain.
Loose avalanches may start small but they can grow and push you into dangerous terrain.
30 to 50 cm of storm snow arrived on Friday evening with strong southeast shifting southwest winds forming deeper, more cohesive slabs in lee terrain features.
Convective flurries on Sunday may deliver an additional 20 cm to localized areas. Watch for fresh storm slab development during periods of heavy snowfall.
No new avalanches have been reported at the time of publishing on Saturday. I suspect a natural storm slab and dry loose avalanche cycle occurred. Looking forward to Sunday natural avalanches will be possible, especially during periods of heavy snowfall or strong solar radiation. Human triggering is likely in steep and/or wind-loaded terrain.
If you head out in the backcountry, let us know what you are seeing by submitting a report to the Mountain Information Network.
30 to 60 cm of new snow exists above 500 metres, with deeper deposits in wind-loaded terrain. Below this new snow, a melt-freeze crust exists on all aspects at treeline and below. The crust extends to mountain tops on sunny aspects. The middle and lower snowpack are strong and well bonded.
Saturday night
Cloudy with flurries, trace to 5 cm of accumulation. Alpine temperatures drop to a low of -4 °C. Ridge wind southwest 10-25 km/h. Freezing level drops to 400 metres.
Sunday
Mainly cloudy with convective flurries, localized accumulation up to 20 cm of accumulation. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -1 °C. Ridge wind light from the southeast. Freezing level rises to 900 metres.
Monday
A mix of sun and cloud. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -2 °C. Ridge wind light from the northwest. Freezing level rises to 800 metres.
Tuesday
Sunny with cloudy periods. Alpine temperatures reach a high of -1 °C. Light ridge wind from the east. Freezing level rises to 900 metres.
More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.
