Avalanche Forecast

Moderate - Due to the number of field observations

The arctic front dominates the province bringing some of the coldest temperatures of the season. Some light snow accumulations can be expected overnight and into tomorrow. Alpine temperatures will dip to -20 accompanied by light winds from the east. The weather pattern will likely start to change Thursday afternoon as the next pacific frontal system tracks onto the south coast. The battle between the cold arctic air and the warm pacific air will bring cloudy unsettled conditions and new snowfall amounts.

On Monday, numerous loose dry avalanches up to size 1 were reported after the storm as well as a natural size 2.5 storm slab from a northeast aspect above 1800 m. The crown was 20-100 cm thick, 150-200 m wide and running 500 m in length. On Saturday, numerous natural storm slab avalanches were reported. These avalanches were up to size 2 and running on north-northeast aspects above 1700 m. Explosive control also triggered several slabs up to size 2. The crowns were 20-40 cm deep and running up to 160 m in length. These slabs were mostly failing on an old storm interface and reports haven't indicated any avalanche actively on the buried November crusts.

New storm slabs and wind slabs have formed on open leeward slopes and behind terrain features. The threshold for avalanches has been exceeded at treeline and in the alpine as reports suggest that the snow depth at treeline is typically 110-150 cm but a report from the east side of region shows only 80 cm at treeline. The snowpack is still developing below treeline and has yet to reach threshold. Limited reports suggest the crust from the middle of November is down 50-80 cm and the crust from early November is down 80-110 cm.