Vancouver Island

Rain to mountaintops on Friday will continue to shrink the snowpack and create difficult travel conditions.

With a limited early-season snowpack, there are not many reports from the backcountry. There have been no recent reports of avalanches.

If you head into the mountains, please share any observations or photos on the MIN.

Rain to mountaintops continues to shrink the snowpack and create difficult travel conditions.

Snow depth decreases rapidly with elevation. After this round of rain we expect there to be no snow below 1200 m, 40 cm at most just above tree line, and possibly small pockets of 60-80 cm in the high alpine.

Thursday Night
Cloudy. 3 to 5 mm of rain at treeline. 20 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 0 °C. Freezing level 1600 m.

Friday
Cloudy. 5 to 10 mm of rain at treeline. 40 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 2100 m.

Saturday
Cloudy. 5 to 15 mm of rain at treeline. 50 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 4 °C. Freezing level 2600 m.

Sunday
Mostly cloudy. 5 to 10 mm of rain at treeline. 60 km/h southwest ridgetop wind. Treeline temperature 3 °C. Freezing level 1800 m.

More details can be found in the Mountain Weather Forecast.

• Avalanche activity is unlikely when a thick melt-freeze crust is present on the snow surface.
• Be alert to conditions that change with aspect and elevation.