With great snowfall comes great responsibility. Be on the lookout for signs of slab formation in the new snow on Friday and expect areas exposed to our recent strong winds to be especially touchy.
Summary
Confidence
High -
Weather Forecast
Thursday night: Flurries delivering around 5cm of new snow with winds moderate to strong from the west.Friday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries and up a to a trace of new snow. Winds light from the west. Alpine temperatures near -10.Saturday: Mainly cloudy with isolated flurries and a trace of new snow. Winds light to moderate from the northeast. Alpine temperatures around -15.Sunday: A mix of sun and cloud with no new snow. Winds light from the northeast. Alpine temperatures to -18.
Avalanche Summary
Natural avalanche observations continue to be reported - mostly from the Roger's Pass area - with numerous size 1-2.5 observations and four reports of size 3 avalanches in the past 24 hours. Storm slab, wind slab, and loose dry avalanches were all featured in today's reports and all are attributed to our recent storm snow layer. Avalanche debris has been noted for entraining lots of the loose new snow and running surprisingly far. Expect continued moderate to strong ridgetop winds along with new snow on Thursday to promote ongoing slab development. For the short term, watch also for loose dry avalanches to be triggered easily in steep sheltered terrain.
Snowpack Summary
Between 35 and 75 cm of new snow has fallen over the region since Monday. The highest accumulations have occurred in the Monashees. Low density snow has allowed for quick settlement of new snow in sheltered areas, where new snow has begun to take on soft slab character. Other areas exposed to moderate to strong winds have experienced wind slab development. 80-120cm below the surface you'll find the mid-December interface, which consists of wind affected snow, faceted (sugary) crystals, and/or surface hoar crystals. Recent tests suggest the the new snow is well bonded to the interface in most areas. However, this layer is still reactive in some snowpack tests and should be investigated before pushing into steeper terrain. Limited observations suggest this layer has been especially touchy on the eastern side of the Selkirks. The thick mid-November crust layer typically sits 1-2 m down in the snowpack. This layer is considered dormant at this time but remains an isolated concern that we will likely be tracking through much of the season.
cgarritty,
Avalanche Canada
