Northwest Coastal

 Sticking to simple, mellow terrain is an easy way to avoid the avalanche problems as the storm snow settles. If you venture into small, steeper slopes, watch for signs of instability like shooting cracks, whumpfs, or slushy snow. 

WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Mostly cloudy. 10-15 cm of snow expected, with up to 30 cm possible around Kitimat. Moderate to strong southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level around 750 m. Alpine low around -5 °C.

THURSDAY: Mostly cloudy. 5-10 cm of snow expected. Moderate to strong southwest ridgetop wind. Freezing level around 1000 m. Alpine temperature around -5 °C.

FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy. 0-5 cm of snow expected overnight, with another 0-5 through the day (up to 15 cm around Kitimat). Moderate to strong south ridgetop wind, with periods of extreme in the high alpine. Freezing level around 1000 m.

SATURDAY: Partly cloudy. 5 cm of snow expected overnight, and another 2-5 through the day (up to 15 cm around Kitimat). Freezing level down to 500 m overnight, and rising to 750 m through the day.  

No new avalanches were reported on Wednesday before 4 pm. 

On Tuesday, northeast of Terrace, several small natural and rider triggered storm slab avalanches were reported around treeline. East of Terrace, a size 2.5 naturally triggered storm slab avalanche was reported on a southeast aspect. It started around treeline, and kept moving well below treeline. 

On Monday, east of Terrace, a size 3 naturally triggered avalanche was reported in steep terrain on a north aspect. Northeast of Stewart, several naturally triggered windslab avalanches up to size 3.5 were reported in steep, lee features at treeline and above. Also, numerous loose wet avalanches up to size 1.5 were reported below treeline across the region.

On Sunday, storm and wind slabs were natural and human triggered to size 1.5. Several larger avalanches have been reported where storm slabs sit on a buried surface hoar or crust. 

Activity on deeper persistent weak layers has been limited throughout last weekend's storm. Avalanches are unlikely to be human triggered on these layers, but possible with a large trigger such as a storm slab in motion or a large cornice fall.

30-70cm of recent snow has fallen, with strong southwest winds creating deeper deposits on east facing aspects. Low elevations may hold 10-30 cm of wet/moist snow sitting over a widespread crust on all aspects below 1200 m.

Below the recent storm snow, a melt freeze crust exists on south facing slopes, with some surface hoar in sheltered terrain features at treeline and alpine elevations. Reports suggest the surface hoar is most widespread around Terrace. 

Another layer of crust and surface hoar sits 60-100 cm deep, buried in late February. It is most prominent in sheltered terrain features at treeline elevations. This layer has shown limited reactivity within the last week. It is more likely to be triggered by large loads like cornice falls or smaller avalanches in motion. 

A thick rain crust from mid-February is buried 100-150 cm. The snowpack below is well consolidated.

• As the storm slab problem gets trickier, the easy solution is to choose more conservative terrain.
• Dial back your terrain choices if you are seeing more than 30 cm of new snow.
• Storm slabs in motion may step down to deeper layers resulting in large avalanches.
• Potential for wide propagation exists, fresh slabs may rest on surface hoar, facets and/or crust.
• Minimize exposure during periods of heavy loading from new snow, wind or rain.
• The more the snow feels like a slurpy, the more likely loose wet avalanches will become.