Regions
Northwest Coastal.
Northerly outflow winds have started to develop new wind slabs on south through west aspects in the alpine.
Weather Forecast
Tonight: Mostly clear with moderate northeast winds and -10 in the alpine. Saturday: Overcast with light snow (3-5cm), moderate northwest winds, and alpine temperatures -10. Sunday: Mostly clear with some convective flurries, light northeast winds, and alpine temperatures near -15. Monday: Clear with light easterly winds, and alpine temperatures near -15.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanche activity reported. Some loose snow sluffing from steep terrain has been reported. Changing wind directions may develop new wind slabs in the alpine.
Snowpack Summary
Overcast skies and a couple of cm of new snow has not changed the snowpack structure since the weekend. A new layer of surface hoar may have been buried early Monday morning. Clear cold weather and shifting winds have created a variety of surface conditions including isolated wind slabs, pockets of soft snow (15-25 cm deep), sun crusts, and surface hoar. A supportive rain crust exists below 1000 m. A layer of surface hoar that was buried on February 10th can be found buried 30-60 cm deep at treeline elevations and has been reactive in some recent snowpack tests. Below this layer, the snowpack is generally settled and strong. The exception is shallow snowpack areas around Bear Pass and Ningunsaw where basal facets remain an ongoing concern.
Problems
Wind Slabs
Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.