Sea To Sky

There's a lot uncertainty regarding the timing and intensity of snowfall forecast for Tuesday. When it does arrive, new wind slabs are expected to form.

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain on Tuesday

Expect up to 8cm of new snow to fall on Tuesday with an additional 5-10cm possible on Tuesday night. Overcast skies are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. Ridgetop winds will be moderate from the southeast with Tuesday's snowfall, becoming light by Wednesday and Thursday. Freezing levels should sit at valley bottom on Tuesday, and then rise to about 1000m on Wednesday and Thursday.

In the last few days, a natural cornice fall on Decker Mountain in the Spearhead Range triggered a size 1.5 wind slab on a northwest facing alpine feature. Looking forward, new wind slab activity is expected in higher elevation lee terrain over the next few days. The expected size and distribution of new wind slab avalanches is really tough to pin down at this point due to uncertainty in the weather forecast.

On Tuesday, light amounts of new snow will overlie a medley of old surfaces which include a melt-freeze crust on solar aspects in the alpine, stubborn wind slabs in exposed higher elevation terrain, and well-developed surface hoar in sheltered areas. Winds are expected to redistribute these new accumulations into soft wind slabs in high-elevation lee terrain. The mid and lower snowpack are generally strong and well-settled.