Heightened avalanche conditions may exist on steep open slopes that have been loaded by the wind.
On Monday there could be sufficient snow to form wind slabs on some steep open slopes due to the combination of localized flurries and gusty southwest wind.
Convective flurries will bring 10-30 cm across the region by Monday afternoon.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Steady flurries with 5-15 cm of new snow, 40-50 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures drop to -7 C.
MONDAY: Scattered flurries with 5-10 cm of snow across most of the region and some localized heavier flurries, 30-40 km/h northwest wind, treeline temperatures around -6 C.
TUESDAY: Sunny, light west wind, treeline temperatures around -5 C.
WEDNESDAY: Cloudy with light flurries and up to 5 cm of new snow, 30-40 km/h southwest wind, treeline temperatures around -4 C.
Avalanche activity over the past week has been limited to small dry loose sluffs and small wet loose avalanches on sun-exposed slopes. On Monday there could be sufficient snow to form wind slabs on some steep open slopes.
A cold front crossing the region will bring 10-15 cm of new snow across the region, with some localized flurries bringing up to 30 cm. This adds to about 10 cm of snow from the past few days which sits above a widespread melt-freeze crust, with the exception of high elevation northerly aspects where the snow sits above a small surface hoar layer. Deeper in the snowpack, a persistent weak layer from late January is buried around 80 to 150 cm and is composed of a combination of surface hoar, facets, and crusts. We haven't received a report of avalanche activity on this layer since late February and the likelihood of triggering this layer is low.
