Regions
Northwest Inland.
New snow and wind have formed small wind slabs on lee features below ridgetops.
Confidence
Moderate - Due to the number of field observations
Weather Forecast
FRIDAY: Cloudy with flurries. Strong southerly ridgetop winds. Freezing level around 1000 m.SATURDAY: Mix of sun and cloud. Moderate southwesterly ridgetop winds. Freezing level around 1100 m.SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy. Light northeasterly ridgetop winds. Freezing level rising to around 1300 m.
Avalanche Summary
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
5-10 cm of new 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 producing very large avalanches in northern parts of the region.
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.
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.