An all freeze and no melt situation will pause wet avalanche activity, however, watch for pockets of wind slab in the alpine as fresh snow is transported by North winds.
Solar radiation is strong at this time of the year - direct sun can quickly increase the avalanche danger.
With new snow in the alpine and north winds, expect to find pockets of newly formed wind slabs, particularly in lee terrain and cross-loaded features.
No new avalanches reported on Thursday.
Numerous natural avalanches were observed during the heat of the day on Tuesday in the Icefields area, including loose wet and wet slab avalanches up to size 3. Most initiated in steep treeline and low alpine terrain, occurring both in the mid-pack & at the ground depending on how isothermal the snowpack was.
Over the past two days, 17mm of precipitation has fallen either as snow or rain depending on elevation and timing of the cooling weather. Expect to find up to 20cm of new snow in high alpine locations.
Melt-freeze crusts exist on all aspects except North alpine, with treeline and below in transition toward isothermal. The high alpine is still holding on to a winter snowpack on NW to NE aspects with the Jan 24th PWL down 80 to 120cm.
A high-pressure ridge over BC and the resulting NW flow will bring cool, dry weather to the region.
Friday, expect a cloudy day with sunny periods, wind gusting to 50km/h from the North and a high of -8°C at 2200m.
Freezing level will remain at valley bottom through the weekend. Cloud cover will increase and a trace of new snow will fall while alpine temperatures dip to -12°C overnight, reaching 6°C during the day.
