Regions
Northwest Inland.
Rising temperatures and the chance for a bit of sunshine on Sunday may be enough to trigger loose wet avalanches on steep slopes facing the sun.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
SUNDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Light northeasterly ridgetop winds. Alpine temperature -3. Freezing level rising to around 1400 m.MONDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Light northeasterly ridgetop winds. Alpine temperature -5. Freezing level around 1100 m.TUESDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Light southwesterly ridgetop winds. Alpine temperature -4. Freezing level around 1200 m.
Avalanche Summary
No new avalanches were reported in this region on Friday. On Wednesday, a size 2 wind slab and a 2.5 deep persistent slab both on west aspects between 1000-1300 m were triggered by explosives near Ningunsaw.
Snowpack Summary
10-15 cm of recent storm snow and strong southeasterly winds have formed fresh wind slabs on lee features at treeline and above.Weak layers buried around March 19th are roughly 40 cm below the surface (up to 100 cm in deeper snowpack areas). These weak layers include surface hoar on shaded aspects at high elevations and hard crust layers on solar aspects and below treeline.Near the bottom of the snowpack, weak and sugary facets are found in shallow, rocky snowpack areas. Storm slabs have stepped down to these facets and produced very large avalanches in the far northern parts of the region.
Problems
Loose Wet
Loose Wet avalanches are the release of wet unconsolidated snow or slush. These avalanches typically occur within layers of wet snow near the surface of the snowpack, but they may quickly gouge into lower snowpack layers. Like Loose Dry Avalanches, they start at a point and entrain snow as they move downhill, forming a fan-shaped avalanche. Other names for loose-wet avalanches include point-release avalanches or sluffs. Loose Wet avalanches can trigger slab avalanches that break into deeper snow layers.
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.