Northwest Coastal

The storm snow will take several days to settle and stabilize. Make conservative terrain choices and have a safe holiday period.

Another 20-30cm of snow fell on Tuesday night which makes over 100cm since Friday. This snow sits on the mid-December rain crust which extends up to about 1400m elevation. At higher elevations this snow sits on heavily wind effected surfaces. Strong SW winds have created wind slabs and cornices which may be a lingering concern. The mid and lower snowpack contains some old crust layers but these layers appear to be well bonded.

Poor - Due to the number of field observations

On Thursday, expect mostly cloudy conditions with light scattered flurries. Freezing levels should be around 800m with light-to-moderate NW wind in the alpine. The next storm system is expected to reach the coast on Friday morning. Friday may see 4-8mm of precipitation with freezing levels around 1000m and light-to-moderate SW wind in the alpine. Saturday may see another 10-20mm with freezing levels around 1000m and light winds.

An early report from Wednesday of natural avalanches up to size 2 from steep terrain features at treeline and the upper part of below-treeline. On Tuesday, natural avalanches up to size 2 were reported from wind loaded areas of the alpine and explosives triggered a few storm slabs up to size 2. Natural activity is expected to drop off quickly but skier triggered slabs will remain a concern for a few days.