Sea To Sky

There's a lot of variability in the snowfall forecast across the region. If you wake up tomorrow with 30cm or more already on the ground Avalanche danger at lower elevations could be higher than advertised.

Moderate - Forecast snowfall amounts are uncertain

The bulk of the forecast storm looks like it is going to scrape just along the 49th parallel. Depending on the actual track, some areas may see substantially more or less snow than forecast. Snow is expected to continue overnight and through Tuesday. Some models are calling for up to 70cm of new snow for areas south of Whistler by the end of the day. However, snowfall amounts taper of sharply as you move further north. Pemberton is onlyexpected to receive around 20cm. Winds are forecastto be light in the north but moderate to strong in the south with a freezing level around 1500m. The next pulse of the stormcould bring another30cm on Wednesday, with light southeast winds and a freezing level of 1000m. Thursday will be mainly cloudy with sunny breaks, moderate westerly winds and a freezing level of 1000m.

No new slab avalanches had been reported at the time of publishing

The forecast snowfall will fall on a sun crust on steep solar aspects, or a fresh layer of surface hoar on sheltered and shady slopes at all elevations or soft old wind slabs in lee and cross-loaded terrain in alpine areas. Around 20 cm below this is a second buried weak layer again consisting of a melt-freeze crust on solar aspects in the alpine or well-developed surface hoar in sheltered areas at treeline and lower elevations. Deeper still, the mid and lower snowpack is generally strong.